Sacrificial Beauty
by Kagomaru
Summary: If asked how far they would go for their village they would have only one answer, as far as it takes. But when a mission forces them to blur the line between deception and desire the question becomes, how far is too far to go back? Kaka/Saku, In/Ne
1. Chapter 1: Choice

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or any of its characters, that right is reserved for Masashi Kishimoto. Also, the first two lines are an excerpt from SterlingCooks' _S__acrificial __Daughter _on

WARNING: There may be inadvertent spoilers.

Japanese vocabulary to know:

Sensei- teacher, though it is a term of respect that is also used for Doctors, Manga-ka, and others.

Shishou- a term of respect similar to teacher, but is used by an apprentice towards their master.

Omiai- a meeting between two people (and sometimes their families) usually hosted by a third party to determine if they are compatible for marriage.

Kohai- underclassmen, used by someone of higher class or rank to someone of lower class or rank in their school, or work.

Kakashi is 30 and Sakura is 16, but I'm not going to list this as minor because in Japan (and by transference Konoha) it's legal to have a relationship/sex with someone at the age of 16. I also think that considering everything Ninja have to go through combined with the semi feudal times they're living in, they mature faster mentally. So I see absolutely nothing wrong with this pairing and my story will reflect this.

Also, I'm saying that condoms haven't been invented due to medical jutsu being more effective anyway.

Let me know if you have any questions, I'll do my best to respond.

Please Read and Review, because it fills me with LOVE! Also, feel free to leave criticism or suggestions, I can take it! ^_^v

* * *

Chapter1: Choice

_As a lamb was led to the slaughter  
So too went the sacrificial daughter_

When Sakura awoke to a light tapping at her door she suppressed a sigh and forced herself to answer it. Opening her door to a figure being backlit by the early morning sunlight Sakura squinted her eyes to discern whether or not she knew them, she didn't.

"The Hokage requires your presence within the hour." Sakura nodded her head in acknowledgement and the figure disappeared before she could blink.

Used to such things, Sakura didn't even bat an eye and turned back into her apartment to get dressed. She didn't rush since she hadn't been told to leave immediately, but she also didn't take the time to eat more than a piece of toast as she looked over her one room apartment.

Her bed was against the back wall in a nook just large enough to shield it from direct view of the door. A nightstand stood next to it, littered with various books she was in the middle of reading and her old-fashioned mettle alarm clock. Along the same wall she had a couch situated in front of the three windows and a coffee table in front of that. Said coffee table covered in notebooks and medical texts.

Sakura sighed, between looking up new jutsu, between books on medical procedures and her own notes scattered across it you couldn't even see the table's surface. She consoled herself that despite the covered table and dismally overflowing bookshelf she was able to keep the kitchen area of the room quite tidy, and unlike Naruto's apartment she made a point to vacuum at least once a week. And her bathroom was downright spotless!

None of that really mattered though, since she almost never had anyone over. The whole apartment was only about twenty tatami in size, but it was more than enough for a single person, especially since she didn't have to share her bathroom with annoying roommates! Sakura reflected again as she slid her sandals on that it had been a very good idea NOT to get an apartment with Ino-pig. They probably would have killed each other.

Sakura smiled at the thought as she stepped out into the morning and locked the door behind her. The walk only took about ten minutes to get from her door to Tsunade's office; it had been one of the reasons Sakura chose the building, with how often she was called in to assist with something or other it was useful to live close by. If pressed she could run the distance in a minute and a half.

When Sakura got to the reception area outside the Hokage's office she smiled at Shizune before knocking once on the door. She only waited for a moment before hearing Tsunade's yell of "enter!"

After entering and closing the door behind her Sakura looked at her shishou. Tsunade had an open bottle of Sake to her right, and an ever-growing pile of paperwork to her left. She didn't look up immediately and Sakura calmly took her place standing before the large desk.

Tsunade finally looked up from the piles of paperwork littering her desk to the bright green eyes of her apprentice. "Sakura…"

"Did you have a mission for me shishou? I gave you the report on my progress yesterday." Tsunade nodded and, seemingly subconsciously, played with the paperwork in front of her.

"Before I tell you the details of this mission, you need to understand that it is entirely voluntary." Sakura's eyes burned with curiosity, she had never heard of a 'voluntary' mission before.

Sakura nodded crisply and Tsunade's eyes bore into her as if measuring her capacities. After a long moment she let out a long breath and continued.

"With Orochimaru dead his subordinates have been mainly inactive. Recently however, a group of them have been gathering, and recruiting." Steepling her fingers and looking troubled Tsunade focused her eyes on a spot just above Sakura's left shoulder. "The Kazekage recently informed us that girls between the ages of seven and fourteen that had been reported missing from several nations have been seen there."

Sakura's brow creased in confusion. "You mean they're being recruited? But why would…"

"Not recruited." Having been cut off mid thought Sakura floundered for a moment before she grasped what Tsunade was implying, she forced herself to think through what she was going to say.

"You want me to pose as one of these girls and infiltrate their camp."

"This is not the mission I would have wished for your first jounin assignment, but you are the only jounin kunoichi who could pass for being under fourteen. There are some chuunin we could send but…" Sakura tensed at the thought of a chuunin girl attempting such a thing. Tsunade continued.

"This is a two nin mission. The female is to play the part of one of these girls, and the male counterpart's job is to become one of them." Tsunade forced herself to look again into Sakura's eyes.

"This mission is asking more of you than the risking of your life Sakura. They monitor each other as much or more than their enemies and each of them is a high level nin, your… interactions, with your counterpart would have to be real. The mission would be of an indeterminate amount of time, during which neither of your covers could be suspect." Sakura swallowed as she stared into Tsunade's eyes. She looked tired, defeated. Her eyes both begged Sakura to accept and save one of her kohai, and to refuse and save herself.

With a deep breath Sakura turned her head and traced the details of the rug with her eyes as she thought. _Could_ she do this?

At sixteen she was one of the younger jounin in the village. Of the gennin she had gone through the first chuunin exam with, Shikamaru and Neji were the only other jounin. Most nins, excepting of course the extraordinary few like Hatake Kakashi, didn't usually achieve jounin until their twenties. So to say that questioning herself was NOT something she was used to doing would be an understatement. But this was beyond anything she had done before.

Sure Sakura could break every bone in a man's body and then choose whether or not to heal him. She could and had killed both in self-defense and as a part of a mission. She had (naturally) spent years learning the arts of seduction and what to expect from intercourse in her required kunoichi classes. But to not only lose her virginity for a mission, but to continue to be violated for anywhere from weeks to years; c_ould_ she do that?

Tsunade sighed deeply at Sakura's prolonged silence, interpreting it as her own hesitant refusal. "I understand, I'll…"

"Who will my counterpart be?" Tsunade looked up in shock but covered it in a moment with her usual mask of irritation and collected herself briefly with a shot of sake before turning back to Sakura.

"Considering the nature of the mission I felt it right that you should choose. Of those qualified that are also available you have your choice of Shiranui Genma, Hyuuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, or Hatake Kakashi… Sakura…"

"How much time do I have to decide?" Realizing that Sakura's decision had been hard enough without Tsunade making her second-guess herself Tsunade kept her response business.

"You have until the day after tomorrow before you have to leave, so let me know your choice by tomorrow night so your partner will have enough time to prepare." With a nod Sakura turned stiffly and left the room.

* * *

Sitting with her back to the middle pillar of training grounds number three, Sakura contemplated who would be her future partner. It was rather unnerving deciding whom she would be sleeping with for the duration of the mission. Any of these men she would have trusted with her life, but this was different.

First there was Genma, at least in his case she knew with an absolute certainty that the answer was no. Sakura could care less that he was the second biggest womanizer in the village (second only to Jiraiya), and she considered herself downright charitable for not castrating him after he had begun to pursue her whenever she wasn't around at least one of her overpowered male friends; but giving him free access to her for the duration of the mission? No.

Then of course there was Shikamaru. Not only was he already in a committed, long distance relationship with Temari (who coincidentally would tear Sakura to pieces for sleeping with her man regardless of the mission), but he was also not too far off the mark for what she was looking for in a man.

And she knew that if she was going to be able to complete this mission and then return to a normal life afterwards, she absolutely _could __not __under __any __circumstances_ fall in love with her partner.

That of course left her with Neji and Kakashi. On the one hand Neji was neither attached nor a known womanizer, but there was still a bit of danger that she could fall for him. Sakura was fairly sure that he was too much like Sasuke (for whom she had thoroughly gotten over any romantic feelings when he had tried to kill them two years ago) for her to seriously consider him in such a light, but there was still that doubt within her that she might.

Of course Kakashi was hardly better. He did come with the almost certainty that she wouldn't fall in love with him, he was unattached, and though he was considered a pervert for reading blatant smut in public he had never been known as a womanizer but… he was Kakashi!

It wasn't so much that he had been her teacher, (that had been short lived and almost four years ago) or even that he was fourteen years older than her, (since she was often the more mature of the two) it didn't even bother her that he had been her team leader until she had become a jounin, (after all, in the society of ninja nothing was considered taboo between two consenting persons of equal rank) but Kakashi… She just didn't see him as a man.

Though when she thought about it, wasn't that what she wanted?

Sakura sighed heavily and tried to clear her mind enough to simply enjoy the warmth of the afternoon sun against her face. On the rare almost spring days that it wasn't raining she enjoyed sitting in the sun's warmth, it would still be a couple months before it became overbearingly hot and she wanted to enjoy it while she could. After all, she might not be able to do so again for a long while.

The moment of tranquility ended abruptly when her stomach growled loud enough to make her blush and she was forced to set aside her thoughts to go in search of food. She supposed she could have ramen- but then she'd run into Naruto, and she really wasn't in the mood to listen to him gush about all the missions he'd been on since officially becoming a chuunin.

Really, by all rights he should be a jounin, but he never seemed to be about when exam time came around. Sakura supposed it didn't really matter since team Kakashi always seemed to get more than its fair share of A-ranked missions anyway...

She missed the team. For the last month Sakura had been teaching medical jutsu to the gennin. Tsunade-shishou had always impressed upon her the importance of having a med-nin on every team but that would never be possible if someone didn't train them, so the responsibility had fallen to Sakura. And she hadn't had a chance to go on a real mission since she had become a jounin the previous month; (her final mission with team Kakashi had been canceled due to Tsunade needing to send Kakashi on an emergency solo mission), and since then she had begun teaching and they had never found a good time to reschedule.

Tsunade had said, 'With new rank comes new responsibility.' But Sakura would have liked to at least been able to celebrate with her team…

"Forehead!" Whipping around Sakura spotted her blond counterpart charging after her as if the furies of hell were at her heels.

"Ino-pig."

"I've been looking for you for the last hour!" Sakura tried to respond but Ino cut her off. "Talk, now."

Sakura tried again to speak, but Ino didn't give her a chance before grabbing her wrist and hauling her into the darkest corner of the nearest restaurant. Wanting to be upset with her, Sakura opened her mouth to complain but was cut off once again by one of the last things she had expected Ino to say.

"I had an omiai this morning."

"What!" Sakura didn't know whether to laugh or choke.

"You know, where you meet someone with the intention to consider marriage." Ino rolled her eyes as if Sakura had lost it, causing Sakura to narrow her eyes for a moment.

"I know _what_ an omiai is Pig! But why did you have one? Aren't you a little young for that yet?" Ino flicked Sakura's forehead.

"Duh, because my parents arranged it of course!" They stared at each other hard for a second before Ino looked down at her fingers in contemplation. "I don't really mind though, I mean, Ka-san met Tou-san through an omiai when she was only a few months older than me… and look at how happy they still are!"

Sakura couldn't argue against the steadfast relationship and true mutual respect Ino's parents held for each other, but the idea of Ino getting married right now just seemed… absurd!

"So?" The prompt caused Ino's eyes to flick up momentarily but then they remained downcast as she began to faintly blush. "Spill it Ino, I can see you're dying to say whatever it is." Before Ino could find her voice a waitress came over and without even glancing at the menu Sakura ordered a bowl of egg drop soup and white rice, before continuing to stare at Ino intently.

"… It was Hyuuga Neji…" The breath rushed out of Sakura as if Ino had kicked her in the stomach. Ino didn't seem to notice and continued to speak. "He's turning eighteen in a few months and his family's eager to have him married and producing more exceptional Hyuugas… and Hinata's mother and mine have always been close so…" Sakura didn't say anything for a long moment as she contemplated what to say.

"Do you _want_to marry him?"

Ino blushed again but managed to look up this time. "I… I don't know. I mean, I don't really have a reason _not_ to. I'm not in love with somebody else, and he tells me he isn't either, and of course I did always want a truck load of kids, and he's the type to really keep his word it's just that…"

"It's just that you don't want a loveless marriage."

Ino smiled, this is why she had _had_ to tell Sakura, she knew her well enough that Ino didn't need to spell it out for her. "Yes."

Sakura thought for a moment. "So I'm guessing you suggested that the two of you go on a few dates to see how it goes?"

Ino blushed and looked down again. "Actually, it was his suggestion…"

Sakura smiled at her friend's uncharacteristic timidity. '_She __must __actually __be __serious __about __this __if __she__'__s __so __worked __up __about __it.__' _

"Well, I don't see a problem then, do you?" At Ino's confused glance she said, "He's obviously not the type of idiot who walks away from something great just because he doesn't know how great it is yet!"

Sakura laughed as Ino's smile became dazzling. Sakura always knew _just_ what to say to make her feel better. "Of course! Do you think I would even consider a man who couldn't see the perfection before his eyes!"

Sakura laughed harder at Ino's newly re-inflated ego. "But I swear, when you have kids, I'm _not_ going to baby-sit!"

As the two of them laughed the waitress came back with Sakura's order and she ate ravenously as Ino smiled over her cup of water. Time and circumstances might change, but some things never would.

* * *

That night, as Sakura lay in bed, she stared up at the ceiling trying to quiet her mind long enough to fall asleep. After an hour she had figured out two things: were FAR too many points on the stucco ceiling to make an accurate count and 2. She wasn't going to get any sleep until she had settled things one-way or the other.

And she couldn't help thinking about what Ino had told her earlier that evening… After finding out that he was going to be dating and possibly becoming engaged to her best female friend, Sakura knew that she couldn't possibly choose him to go on this mission with her. Which only left, "Kakashi…"

It was hard to imagine what sex with the copy-nin was going to be like. Would he even be able to with someone like her? Someone who with the right clothing, hairstyle and demeanor could pass for a twelve-year-old girl?

And what about him, he could be hideous under that mask of his for all she knew, what would he say if she felt the need to ask him to put it back on?

Like a bolt of lightning it suddenly occurred to her that she would get to see under his mask! A feat she was sure no one who hadn't known him from childhood had accomplished.

Of course this tidbit wasn't enough to make her feel comfortable with the coming mission, but she'd be lying to say it didn't take the edge off, a little bit at least.

Sakura told herself that it would be okay, Kakashi would never allow her to be hurt, and he wasn't any of the things that had worried her about the other candidates… But she couldn't help but worry a little bit. After all, he could always refuse the mission, leaving her no choice but to go with Genma, ewww...

And if he did take the mission there was always the possibility that they would never be able to act normal around each other afterwards. But still, he really was the best candidate; and she _had_ been leaning towards him even before Ino mentioned the omiai. So she really had no right to complain, right?

Sighing again Sakura looked over at the clock to see that it was just after eleven, right around the time Tsunade would be settling down to sleep.

Unable to think of anything else that might help her get some sleep herself Sakura quickly threw on a pair of sweat pants over her panties and long shirt she had worn to bed and slipped on her sandals before heading out the door to visit her shishou.

The night air was refreshing against her face as she sped from rooftop to rooftop. The air was cold enough that Sakura realized she should have worn a coat as well, but she didn't have it in her to go back for one, she might put this off if she didn't go now.

So when she reached Tsunade's doorstep she knocked and then kept knocking until Tsunade finally answered the door with a roared, "What!"

Seeing Sakura standing there shivering with a determined look in her eye at eleven fifteen at night, she couldn't help usher her inside the warm living room and wrapping her in a blanket before forcing her to sit on the plush sofa. Softening her tone she asked, "What's wrong?"

Sakura smiled lightly at her shishou's concern even as she tried to still her chattering teeth. "Nothing's the matter exactly, I just decided on Hatake and I thought I should let you know." Tsunade looked surprised, though Sakura couldn't tell if it was because she had rushed over here without a coat to tell her this, or because of her choice in partners.

Tsunade sat herself in an equally plush chair across from Sakura. "Why Hatake?" Sakura almost rolled her eyes.

"Well… many reasons. First, I felt that Genma was out of the question, I just… not Genma." Tsunade fought back a smile and nodded as she waited for Sakura to continue, which after a moment of soaking up the warmth now surrounding her, she did. "Shikamaru and Temari are in a serious relationship and she would probably start a huge incident over it if I chose him." Tsunade's eyebrow shot up.

"I didn't realize they were being exclusive." Sakura smiled softly as she remembered a conversation she had had with Temari a few months back.

"They haven't made it all official or anything yet, but Temari would kill him if he slept with someone else." Tsunade seemed to contemplate this for a moment before nodding for her to continue.

"I was considering Neji, being that he's closer to my age and has never been my superior before, but when I was going to get some dinner I was accosted by Ino, who apparently had an omiai with him this morning." Tsunade looked even more shocked at this than she had at Sakura's choosing Kakashi.

"I think my information specialists on the social affairs of the city aren't working hard enough." The grim set to her jaw told Sakura that _somebody_ was going to be getting a very angry lecture come morning.

After a moment of thought she turned back to Sakura with a slightly less grim stare. "So as far as you see it Hatake is your only choice?" Sakura frowned at Tsunade's words; she rather resented the implication that she would settle for a sub-par partner.

"Honestly, he is, but that doesn't mean that he's not also the right choice." At Tsunade's raised eyebrow Sakura explained her reasoning, ticking each point off on her fingers.

"He's not known as a womanizer or cruel lover," She successfully beat down the urge to blush at her own words and continued.

"He's not married or engaged or seeing anyone, unless of course you count his treasured porn…" Tsunade shared a smile with her even as she continued once again. "He's not really my type so it's unlikely that I'll be unable to detach myself from him when the mission is over." At this Tsunade's smile broadened but Sakura ignored it and continued to her last point.

"And most importantly, he would never harm me or allow me to be hurt if there was anything he could do to prevent it. Hatake may be a perpetually late pervert, but he is the right man for me to go on this mission with." Tsunade had allowed her smile to fade, but her face shown with pride nonetheless.

"You're right, of course." Sakura tried to smile but found herself yawning instead, causing Tsunade to look at the clock again, it was eleven thirty.

"Come in tomorrow morning at ten. Maybe if I call him in at seven he'll be there by then." Sakura tried to smile again but she couldn't make it reach her eyes and her ever-vigilant shishou noticed. "What?"

"You think…" Sakura looked into Tsunade's eyes, finally allowing her worries to show. "He won't turn down the mission will he? Because if I have to go with Genma I…" Tsunade's laughter cut her off.

"Don't worry in that regard at least." Tsunade's eyes sparkled as if thinking of some great mischief. "During his entire career Hatake Kakashi has never turned down a mission. He's argued about who his companions should be, or the plan of attack from time to time, but an outright refusal has never happened." Sakura felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and she was finally able to manage a smile.

"Thank you Shishou." As she made to shrug off the warm blanket and return home Tsunade caught her hands.

"Take it, you can give it back to me tomorrow." At Sakura's bemused look she continued. "A cold is really one of the last things you need to worry about right now Sakura." Sakura blushed lightly and nodded before standing and making her way to the door.

"Good night Sakura."

"Good night Shishou." Sakura looked back at Tsunade as if to memorize her standing there in her old but well preserved robe. For a moment Tsunade thought she should say something, but the moment passed and Sakura was gone in a flurry of blanket before she could even open her mouth.

Tsunade shook her head with a small smile as she walked back to her own bed. "She always does make me proud, doesn't she?"

* * *

Hatake Kakashi was a man of few pleasures, or rather a man of many pleasures but few indulgences.

Almost five years previously he had told team seven that he had many hobbies, which was true if you included the ones he hadn't allowed himself to indulge in for years. Like chasing after girls. (That counts as a hobby, right?)

When he had first hit puberty he had been almost as bad as Genma when it came to how often he would try to seduce the female populous; though Kakashi professed to have considerably more tact.

There was also dog training which he hadn't done since finishing the training of his own eight nin-dogs. Also: training, sleeping, reading, training, being late, aggravating teammates, _training_, and when the mood took him- cooking.

If he were to really think about it he might realize that he had never really had many hobbies, but for that very reason he took care NOT to think about it. After all, claiming to have many hobbies that no one ever saw him do added to the mystery of Copy-nin Kakashi. (As if a mask wasn't enough!)

However, waking up at seven am to a bird pecking at the windowsill was neither one of his hobbies nor one he would pretend to have; but regardless, it was something he was used to.

Thankfully he had managed to avoid Genma last night when he had been looking for a drinking buddy otherwise Kakashi might not have felt the need to get out of bed until early afternoon. A brown bird meant that the Hokage wanted to see you _soon_, the black bird meant _now._ A call from a black bird was one that even the perpetually late Hatake Kakashi would heed whether he had been drinking or not; but today he needn't rush. The bird was brown.

Having slept rather well, Kakashi managed to make it through his morning routine of shower, breakfast and visiting the memorial by nine o'clock and arrived at the Hokage's office by nine forty-five on the dot. A feat to be proud of he assured himself.

Shizune seemed surprised to see him and he smiled his typical eye crinkle in greeting before entering the office without knocking and standing before the Hokage's desk with his usual slouch, hands in his pockets.

Tsunade didn't even look up. "I have a mission for you."

"Hn" Finally glancing up at him Tsunade noted that he must have escaped Genma's binging last night, as he looked rested for once. '_Good.__'_

"This is not a mission you are required to take, though when given her options you were the female counterpart's first choice." Kakashi made no comment (though he wondered at Tsunade's explanation), he had never turned down a mission before, not even the so-called 'optional' ones. He knew what that really meant.

Every mission you took risked your life, and as a nin you would be sent on sometimes certain death missions without anyone ever asking if you were okay with it; but when it came to the more touchy subject of sex, the higher ups became squeamish.

They titled the missions where they _knew_ you would be forced into sexual acts 'optional.' Even when there was no one else qualified to take the mission. It made them feel better to think they had given you the 'choice.'

Kakashi never said a thing, unlike some of his less jaded colleges he knew that these missions were not even allowed unless they had _something_ to do with Konoha security; no one could simply pay for such… services.

It was true that there were missions requested by clients that involved seduction, but the only ones accepted were those involving civilians. That way a simple genjutsu would suffice. If you somehow got into a situation where you had to either sleep with a target or risk the mission, you slept with them. But the mission wouldn't be accepted if the client _knew_ such things would be required.

Funny the way people justified things… but Kakashi had no reason to turn down a mission he knew could mean the preservation of Konoha. Considering the things he had done in the past this couldn't be much worse. Sex was just sex after all.

Tsunade surveyed his reaction, noting that as usual she may as well have told him it was Friday for all the emotion he displayed. She had to hand it to the girl, when she was right, she was right. Hatake was _the_ man for the job.

"Some of Orochimaru's old subordinates have been gathering lately." Kakashi immediately stood just a little straighter and focused upon her intently.

"Besides recruiting other missing nin they have been gathering young girls between seven and fourteen. ALL of their residents prey upon the girls." At this even Kakashi managed to raise an eyebrow in apprehension, did this mean he was going to have to sleep with children? The thought sent an awful chill through him, maybe this _could_be worse.

"I'm glad to see that you are displeased with the idea." Kakashi almost scoffed, displeased was beyond an understatement.

"Thankfully there are some among them who only prey upon one girl and are even possessive of them, hence your female counterpart." Kakashi was slightly mollified that he would not need to prey upon a parade of young girls, but he didn't entirely let go of his misapprehension. He didn't know if he would be able to bring himself to be aroused, let alone orgasm with a child.

Noting his still tense shoulders Tsunade smiled, deciding to torture him for just a bit longer. "She should be here shortly, I believe she had one more day of lessons to complete this morning."

Kakashi thought he might be sick at the thought of sleeping with one of the gennin girls, but forced himself to show nothing. He had done worse than this right? He had killed at the age of six, had tortured and interrogated subjects at the age of seven, on occasion he had even been forced to kill small children.

Granted those children had been prodigies from other villages or even rouges who had tried to kill him, but surely the sin was equal to that of sleeping with one of them, right? Kakashi drooped. No, it wasn't.

"Hokage-sama, who…" Just then there was a light nock at the door.

"That should be her now. Enter!" Turning to watch his mission partner enter the room Kakashi almost choked upon seeing a girl that couldn't have been more than nine or ten with long black hair standing in the doorway.

"Hokage-sama…" The girl froze upon seeing the Copy-nin Hatake standing before her, she looked scared and Kakashi couldn't blame her.

"Hokage-sama, I don't think…" Tsunade cut Kakashi off before he could refuse his first mission.

"Reika, what is it?" He almost laughed in relief- this wasn't her. Tsunade even seemed surprised to see her.

The girl's eyes darted back to Tsunade at the sound of her name and (after gathering herself for a moment) forced herself to straighten and deliver her message.

"Sakura sensei was called away to an emergency at the hospital and wanted me to say this exactly…" The girl's nervous eyes flicked back to Kakashi for a moment before she continued.

"_That __man __can __just __damn __well __wait __on __me __for __once!__"_

Tsunade was tempted to laugh, between Sakura's words and Kakashi's stunned reaction to the identity of his partner it was a close call, but she managed to press her lips together and execute a nod to dismiss one of Sakura's most promising students.

Kakashi didn't feel like laughing.

Tsunade had purposefully allowed him to believe he would have to basically rape a child, when his partner would actually be a woman of equal rank… but he was honestly too relieved to be angry.

Sure Sakura had once been his student, and had often been his subordinate, but she was an intelligent kunoichi capable of deciding to both take on a mission of this nature and to have him as her partner. He no longer felt incapable of completing this mission the way it needed to be done for the highest rate of success.

"Hatake," Kakashi turned towards his now fully composed Hokage, he himself now as relaxed as he had been when he had first entered her office.

Tsunade held out a mission scroll. "You can read over the details for yourself, you leave tomorrow morning. You should probably go to the hospital to wait for Sakura so you can go over the mission together."

Before he could even nod his head she amended herself. "Go to the hospital NOW to wait. I'm quite sure there are any number of things you need to take care of before you go."

Kakashi didn't pretend to misunderstand what she had meant by things he needed to 'take care of.' He knew perfectly well what was expected on a mission like this.

"And Hatake?" He looked back over his shoulder at her as he turned to leave. "_Try_ not to fall for her, she says you're not her type."

"Hn." And with a slight smile and a wave Kakashi was gone in a poof of smoke.

* * *

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	2. Chapter 2: Lessons

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or any of its characters, that right is reserved for Masashi Kishimoto.

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Chapter 2: Lessons

Sakura's morning had started beautifully. The sun had just begun to rise when she awoke, she hadn't slept long but with Tsunade's reassurance she had fallen asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Turning off her alarm before it could go off she walked to her bathroom and took a leisurely shower before drying off and brushing her teeth. Leaving her towel hanging up to dry she walked naked into her room and stood before her full length mirror at the foot of her bed.

First she inspected her body, trying to be objective as she determined how young she currently looked. She was surprised to find she actually looked her age. She didn't really spend much time in the buff when the curves of her breasts were free from the bindings all kunoichi wore. That fact, combined with hips that she usually thought of as overly large and her waist, trim from many hours spent training; made her realize that she actually had a rather nice hourglass figure! …Unfortunately she needed to look no older than fourteen, not sixteen verging on seventeen.

Sakura looked at the picture of team seven and thought about how to look more like her younger self. She didn't have time to grow out her shoulder length hair, but maybe a change of color? Using henge no jutsu she tried several colors ranging from Ino's bleach blond to a deep red to Hinata's pitch black.

The image of herself with blond hair was not one she ever wanted to see again, besides not helping her look younger it made her look like a tramp; rather the opposite of what she was going for. Most of the other shades she tried looked either good or bad, but had no effect whatsoever on how old she looked. Black however...

She smiled into the mirror, knowing she had found the solution to part of her problem. Taking a moment to gloat Sakura allowed the jutsu to fade, noting that despite only having changed her hair color, she had taken about a year off her appearance; but that still wasn't enough. Staring hard at her body Sakura thought of how else she might appear younger. That is, until she noticed the time reflecting back at her in the mirror just over her shoulder. "Shit!"

When Tsunade had said that she didn't need to come in until ten she had let it slip her mind that she still had to teach her future med nins how to draw poison from a wound today. She wasn't late yet, but she would be in about five minutes.

Without bothering to bind her breasts she threw on a clean bra and panty set along with her usual outfit of red shirt, taupe skirt, black spandex shorts, and sandals, before strapping on her kunai pouch and running out the door.

She sprinted the thankfully short distance to the Hospital, running past innocent villagers and ignoring shouts of protest as she dodged through the crowded morning market street that was the quickest route to her destination. She didn't allow herself to slow to a walk until she approached the room that was her destination.

After taking a calming breath she opened the door. Young faces turned up with smiles as she stepped into the room at exactly eight am. As per usual only three gennin teams succeeded in actually becoming gennin after graduation; but newly instituted by Tsunade, all gennin had to learn at least the most basic first aid and healing arts.

Today was the last day that all nine of them were required to attend the twice a week sessions that they had been attending for the last month. After today most of them would return to only regular training and missions with their teams, but the two Sakura felt truly held a talent for the healing arts would continue training both at the hospital and with their teams.

Sakura turned her head a little at the sound of business-like whispering, Reika and Shouji, her two best students. Reika had long black hair and equally black eyes while Shouji had light brown hair and grey eyes; but their personalities were almost identical: Compassionate, a little nervous and occasional mischief makers, but determined to learn.

Someday they would grow out of their nervousness and become great med-nins. Sakura had hoped to continue being their teacher for a while yet, to see them grow into their abilities, but this mission took priority. Someone else would become their sensei and guide them into the great medics Sakura knew they could become.

Time passed quickly while she was teaching, the gennin would always at least try to understand her instructions and rarely got out of line… Though the latter was probably because when one of them _did_get out of hand she would gag them, tie them up, and suspend them from the ceiling to prevent the others from being tempted to disrupt the class.

Needless to say that after the first few days she hadn't had any more disruptions from her gennin students; years of dealing with Naruto had taught her well in the ways of keeping the easily distracted in line.

Not everyone learned everything perfectly, but Sakura believed they knew more than at least half the jounin about the medical arts, and that would save lives someday. Tsunade was even talking about making it necessary for all the chuunin and jounin to take these classes as well, but had as of yet to get enough support to make it happen.

When the lesson itself was over Sakura went from student to student observing their progress and instructing them on how they could most effectively improve given each student's unique abilities.

At nine forty-five, when she was just getting ready to leave for her appointment with Tsunade, an out of breath nurse burst into the room. "Haruno-san! Team Gai has just returned with critical injuries, and you're needed right away."

It was a known fact in the hospital that Rock Lee would not let anyone besides Haruno Sakura heal him.

One time he had come in with a broken collarbone while Sakura was out on a mission, he had waited the three days it took for her to return just so he could be healed by his favorite pink haired kunoichi. However Sakura felt that the nurse was panicking needlessly, Lee's injuries obviously couldn't be _that_ bad if he still had the energy to try holding out for Sakura after all.

Sakura started towards the door not sure whether to thoroughly beat Lee and then heal him, or to heal him first and then beat into him that she was NOT his personal nurse. She was leaning towards the second option, but as she reached the doorway a thought occurred to her and she stopped to turn back over her shoulder.

"Reika, I need you to deliver a message to the Hokage for me, and I want you to get it _just_ right…" The gleam in her eye sent a shiver down the girl's spine. Sakura-sensei could be really scary sometimes.

* * *

Kakashi didn't even bother pretending he didn't know what the Hokage meant by the '_any __number __of __things_' he and Sakura had to '_discuss.__'_ Their cover was that Kakashi (who wasn't even supposed to pretend to be anyone other than the Copy-nin) had become a missing-nin after being caught taking advantage of his gennin student Saki (Sakura).

So tomorrow morning two Anbu would be sent to get Kakashi from his apartment for an urgent mission; one of them would 'recognize' Saki and initiate battle in defense of her 'honor,' during which they would pretend to die. (A difficult feat when your audience was an Anbu operative.) Kakashi would then allow the second Anbu to escape and spread the tale of '_Kakashi__ the __Betrayer_.'

It wasn't every day that a previously respected ninja was pronounced a missing-nin, so Kakashi and Sakura shouldn't have to worry about 'advertising' his denouncement from Konoha, but they would have plenty of other things to worry about. Such as the squad of hunter Anbu Tsunade would have to send after them.

But knowing that Sakura was to be his partner in this did make Kakashi feel a little better. No child should be exposed to the types of things they were likely to see… but he couldn't help hoping she was right about him not being her type.

Kakashi respected Sakura, he wasn't even totally opposed to having sex with her, (despite what Sakura may have thought, the fact that she was an adult was abundantly clear) but if there was one thing Hatake Kakashi did not want it was to have a woman fall in love with him. Despite the abundant experience Kakashi had with women, his life was Konoha-gakure, period.

He had sought physical pleasure often when he was younger, (what war emboldened teenager didn't?) And he still did occasionally when outside the village, but he had never wanted more. More led to lovers bitter over continually being left behind, more led to thoughts of loved ones that could distract you in the field, to fears of not coming back this time… to broken families.

No, Kakashi didn't want more. And as he sat on the window ledge of Rock Lee's hospital room watching Sakura silently healing the infatuated youth he couldn't help thinking that maybe she didn't either… at least not yet.

Kakashi waited patiently until Sakura looked up from her healing to see him sitting there, she sadly didn't look surprised. '_Hmm,__ maybe__ I__'__m__ getting __rusty__…'_

Lee said something that caused Sakura to look back at him with a frown before knocking him upside the head and leaving the room. Kakashi smiled at the image of Gai, who had been standing behind Sakura, crying over Lee's fully healed but currently unconscious form.

It only took a minute for Sakura to get outside the hospital, and she was not the least bit surprised when she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to find Kakashi with his usual eye crinkle and half raised hand.

"Yo." Sakura managed a small smile despite her trepidation, but she knew he wasn't fooled.

Kakashi could see the way her jaw was clenched under her smile. She wasn't going to do this because she wanted to improve her standing in Konoha, or even because if she didn't do it someone else would have to. Sakura was going to do this for the same reason he was; because this mission was necessary, and she was the most qualified kunoichi to complete the mission successfully.

It gave him hope.

"We should…" Sakura looked down at her usual training outfit, unable to look him in the eye. "…talk."

Kakashi just barely managed not to laugh by biting his tongue. Keeping his mirth to an eye crinkle he put Sakura's antics aside. This was a serious mission and there were some things they should definitely take care of before morning.

"Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere less… outdoors." Sakura managed a real smile at his 'delicate' phrasing, it wasn't something she had thought he would even pretend to do.

"Should we go to my place or…"

"Mine." Kakashi cut her off and Sakura looked up at his abrupt tone. "When we get back… well, there are advantages to NOT being reminded of… things." Sakura's eyes widened as she comprehended his words.

"Yes, of course." He didn't see her blush, and she turned away quickly before he could and began walking in the direction of his apartment. After only a few steps she stopped without turning back or looking up from her shoes. "Thank you Kakashi... I wouldn't have thought of that." Kakashi shrugged and began to walk leisurely, causing Sakura to walk again at his side.

"You haven't done this before."

"But you have." It wasn't a question but he answered her anyway.

"Yes."

"How many?" Kakashi stared at her blankly and she blushed. She knew that it was completely irrelevant and none of her business besides, but she was afraid to think too much about what they were about to do.

So instead of continuing with a line of questions she would get no answers to, she took a deep breath and began to explain how to draw poison from a wound. Not knowing if he had already perfected this or had never studied it at all, she went into great detail about the method that would be most effective for Kakashi's chakra type.

Kakashi said nothing, remaining attentive but simply allowing her to talk. He knew that this was hard for her, the first time always was; but the best thing he could do for her was to keep this business.

They would do this at his place so that when they came back from this mission her home would be empty of his presence. She wouldn't have to remember it all every time she entered her apartment… A courtesy Kakashi only wished he had been granted during his first 'optional' mission. He'd been forced to find a new residence.

When they reached his apartment he pushed the unlocked door open and allowed her to enter before closing the door behind him. The lock clicked into place before she could ask him to and a fraction of the tension left her shoulders. She really didn't know what she would do if someone walked in on them during her first time...

Sakura swallowed hard, it didn't seem real that in just a little while she would be…

"Tea?" Kakashi was already entering the kitchen as he spoke.

Sakura broke out of her thoughts enough to answer him weakly. "Yes." Unable to look at Kakashi Sakura opted instead to look around his apartment.

The entryway opened up into the kitchen and living room in almost a replica of Sakura's apartment; except that across the room from the bathroom door stood the door to his bedroom. Kakashi's 'dining room' was (like hers) nothing more than a couple chairs pulled up to the kitchen's island style counter-top, but she supposed he didn't need any more than that.

The main room was the same size as her apartment, and eerily had almost the same layout. But where Sakura had her bed, nightstand, dresser, and mirror, Kakashi had a comfortable recliner as well as two more bookshelves packed with books of every genre. His rug was also softer than hers, his couch more comfortable, and she was willing to bet that his bed was twice the size. (Though she had yet to actually see his bedroom)

And though all of this was enough to make her jealous, what drove her crazy was that everything in the room was completely immaculate.

She could still remember the first time she had been to his apartment three years ago. It was the day of the final rounds of her chuunin exam and she had been determined to drag him there herself so that he would have no excuse to be late. Imagine her surprise when a sleepy looking copy-nin had opened the door in nothing but his fitted black tank with attached mask and his black jounin pants!

She had been accosted by the spicy smell of tea steeping as he silently let her in and shuffled over to the kitchen counter to make a second cup for her. Closing the door quietly she had stared wide-eyed at his apartment. Somehow Sakura had always imagined that her ex-sensei was as messy as Naruto, too apathetic to care how he lived and too lazy to clean for company; but in actuality he was rather anal. She told herself she shouldn't have been surprised.

Kakashi surprised her again though when he cleaned and put everything away as soon as he was done with it. When Sakura had off-handedly asked him about it he had shrugged and said it that would be too much work to clean if he came back from a mission to find food encrusted dishes and moldy food.

Bewildered, she had dared to ask if that had happened before, only to be answered with that same uncommunicative smile he always gave. It had infuriated her at the time, but Sakura was used to his antics by now.

Sakura sank herself onto one of the stools at the counter-top as Kakashi busied himself with making the tea. She watched him idly, his movements fluid as he poured two mugs of the same spicy black tea that had smelled so divine upon her first visit to his apartment.

Sakura wanted to tell herself she wasn't surprised when he added two scoops of sugar before handing her the cup, but she was. '_When __did __he __notice __how __I __drink __my __tea?__'_

He added nothing to his own tea before sitting down next to her, and Sakura couldn't help but relax as the warmth from the tea spread through her. A soft smile played upon her lips as every muscle in her body relaxed more and more with each sip.

She allowed herself to revel in the sensation of warmth pooling in her abdomen as she sipped more of the spicy tea. It was nice, in the companionable silence she let go of the muscle tension that had been building. She felt the heat intensify pleasantly, washing over her in ever growing waves, it was nice. It was…

"It's spiked." Sakura set the cup down a little harder than necessary and turned to glare at his profile, as he hadn't even turned to look at her. Attempting to beat down the heat building within her she was pleased to note that at least it wasn't affecting her reasoning abilities.

"It will make this easier." Sakura glared at Kakashi for a second longer. His logic was perfectly right, it _would_ make things easier but… he was drinking it too. She felt sick.

"I knew it." Kakashi actually turned to look at her downcast eyes in question. "… I know I was chosen for this mission because I pass for much younger than I am, and I'm sure you're not a pedophile considering your choice in literature, but…" Kakashi choked on his laughter and couldn't hold it back despite the glare he could feel boring into him.

"Sakura" He forced himself to stop laughing and turned to look her fully in the eye. "First of all, you don't, in any way, resemble a child." He almost laughed again at her skepticism but held back.

"It's the sugar that's spiked, NOT the tea." After taking a moment to absorb that tidbit she looked like she might ask another question, so he continued. "It has been my experience that it is much harder for women to become aroused when having intercourse for a mission than it is for men." Sakura's blush was one that could have been seen in the dark it glowed so brightly, but she continued to listen intently.

"You're a virgin?" Sakura winced a little but nodded. "I suspected as much. That's the other reason I gave it to you, the more… tense you are, the more likely it will hurt. I don't want to hurt you."

Sakura smiled a little and stopped trying so hard to fight the heat building within her. "Then, are you going to take off your mask?" Kakashi frowned slightly.

"No… Sakura, this is business. I don't mix my personal life with missions. Unless the mission specifically calls for it I will not be taking my mask off." Sakura looked surprised (and maybe a little disappointed) but she supposed that it made sense and wasn't offended; maybe it would even make things easier.

They would have to share their bodies and space for a long period of time, but if they shared nothing of their personal selves they could return to Konoha without undue amounts of tension between them.

"Okay… Umm, I don't… where do we start?" Kakashi smiled at her as he calmly took off his gloves before lightly caressing down her arm and clasping her hand. She looked up at him in surprise but didn't resist as he stood and gently guided her to his bedroom, closing the door behind them.

* * *

"You want me to do what!" Tsunade looked glumly at her empty sake bottle and rubbed her temple, adding a little chakra to her fingers to help sooth away the growing headache.

"Genma, if you don't think yourself capable of playing dead for a few minutes I'll get somebody else. I just thought you might enjoy pretending to be Anbu." Genma took a moment to think as he chewed on his senbon.

"So… Hatake and Sakura-chan, eh?" Tsunade sighed deeply.

"It's a mission Shiranui." He smirked and Tsunade threw her empty sake bottle at him, forcing him to shut his mouth and dodge before he could say something that would make her want to _actually_ hurt him.

"Don't make this harder than it is Shiranui. Remember, she's NOT Sakura. She's Saki, Kakashi's thirteen year old student, and you're horrified by his actions."

"Horrified it's not me in his place." Genma said it under his breath, though when Tsunade threw her paperweight at his head so fast that he barely managed to dodge he reflected that it hadn't been quiet enough.

"Right, Saki, horrified. What time do you want me to be horrified?" Tsunade continued to glare at him.

"Be here dressed as an Anbu at nine am." With a nod Genma turned and left Tsunade alone to contemplate how to punish him without needing to take him off active duty. It came to her in a flash and she smiled slowly, she liked killing two birds with one stone.

* * *

Sakura tightened her grip on Kakashi's hand fractionally at the sound of the door closing. Her heart began to beat faster as she felt him step behind her, letting go of her hand to wrap both arms around her waist.

"Are you afraid?" His warm breath against her ear made her shutter. She shook her head.

"I'm not afraid… I'm nervous, but I trust you." Kakashi smiled lightly as he began to run his hands up and down her sides softly.

"Good." He breathed deeply of her lightly floral scented hair. The scent wasn't strong enough to be detected in the field, but it was delectable enough to make Kakashi glad that Pakun's comment about her using the same shampoo hadn't made her switch brands.

He continued to caress her sides gently and brought his hands leisurely up her back and down her arms. Kakashi had never actually taken a woman's virginity before. His own escapades had lead him to the more experienced type and 'optional' missions very rarely called for someone under twenty, but logic dictated that he take it slowly.

They had to do this now, tonight. Not only because their cover required them being caught in some form of this, but because he actually needed to teach Sakura how to do this. (Something he might not be able to do once they truly began their roles tomorrow morning.) But still, it was Sakura's first time, and his pride would be greatly damaged if he couldn't at least make her enjoy it.

As Kakashi's hands slid down her arms the fire that had been slowly building in her abdomen burned brighter, causing her breath to hitch and her back to arch. His hands were different than she'd expected. Not soft the way a civilian's hands might be, but smooth despite the calluses he'd gained from years of weapons practice and filled with the type of strength that could just as easily hurt her as pleasure her. It didn't matter that she knew he would never hurt her, the thought of what his strong hands alone could do to her sent electricity through her veins.

When Sakura rested her head back against his shoulder she dimly noted the masculine scent of his skin. Spicy like the tea they had been drinking, but also earthy and just slightly electric, as if chidori had permanently left its scent upon him. She liked it. It was so like him it was reassuring, and as his hands moved to lightly cup her breasts she inhaled deeply; breathing in the safety of his scent and the pleasure his strong hands provided.

Kakashi rolled her nipples tenderly through her clothes, causing Sakura to gasp at the new sensation and arch her back further. He slipped one of his hands down her side and slid it up under her shirt to let his fingers explore the soft skin of her stomach, brushing the undersides of her breasts lightly.

She squirmed at his slow pace and wished silently that he would return his strong hand to her lonely breast, and when he did she moaned appreciatively. His fingers played with her nipples first gently and then more firmly until she pleaded.

"Kakashi… please, more…" Kakashi groaned when she accidentally rubbed her backside against his rapidly growing erection. She was inexperienced but responsive and willing; it was more than he had hoped for even with the chemical added to her sugar.

Determined not to disappoint, he brought one hand back to unhook her bra before removing both shirt and bra in one swift motion. He returned his hands to her firm breasts, causing her to moan as he squeezed them more firmly. Her moan was more than enough reward for having had to stop for a moment.

Sakura's hands came up seemingly of their own volition and buried themselves into Kakashi's hair, shivers running up and down her spine with his every touch. His hands were expertly fueling the fires the sugar had started, but unlike the sugar, she could feel her thoughts slipping away, unable to focus on anything but the feeling of his hands stroking her body.

One of his hands continued to play deftly with her nipples as his other explored the exposed skin of her stomach and inched lower than it had before. Sakura could barely breathe, she had never wanted anything the way she wanted him right now. A small part of her was still nervous, still wanted to fight the feeling of heat coursing through her, but she knew that she didn't have that option. So, throwing out her useless inhibitions Sakura simply reveled in the feeling of his slowly teasing hands against her flesh… His hands that were moving _too_ damn slow.

"Kakashi, please!" She could feel his chuckle against her back as he unbuckled her skirt and slipped his hand under her shorts to play with her clit through the cotton of her panties. Together they let out a moan of satisfaction.

"Shit Sakura, you're so wet." Sakura wanted to be embarrassed, but with his finger playing circles against her core she could do nothing but dig her fingers a little harder into his scalp. He rolled her clit expertly before pinching it, causing Sakura to cry out harshly. She could feel something tightening inside of her and breathlessly begged Kakashi to release it as she ground her backside into him.

Ever obligingly Kakashi slipped his fingers passed her damp panties and pressed hard against her engorged clit. The sudden sensation of his strong fingers against her sensitive flesh caused the something inside of her to snap, sending sparks and warmth to every part of her body and tearing a deep moan from her throat.

Kakashi smiled as her body slumped in his arms, only staying upright due to his grip on her hip and breast pulling her against him. After a full minute he called to her. "Sakura…" She forced herself to take more of her own weight on shaky knees and stepped forward as he guided her to the edge of the bed. She made to climb onto the bed but he held her back. "I want you to bend over, hold yourself up on the bed but remain standing."

Sakura was a virgin in practice but had learned through years of kunoichi classes that this was not the least bit unusual… well maybe a little unusual for a virgin, but not enough for her to question him. As she bent forward she could feel his hands gently pulling her skirt, shorts, and panties down in one smooth motion before throwing them behind him to land near her other clothes. His hands trailed back up her thighs and lightly gripped the mounds of her ass before positioning her legs in a slightly wider stance.

Kakashi was throbbing in need. Only hours ago he had thought he would have to teach this to a child, a child who had only just begun her kunoichi classes and had no idea what she was getting herself into, he was very pleased to be wrong. Sakura wanted this, maybe she hadn't specifically wanted this with him before he had touched her, but she was old enough to know what this feeling was and accept it fully. He didn't want to hold back any longer and was thankful that he didn't need to.

As he pulled down his pants to pool at his ankles Kakashi whispered into Sakura's ear, his hot breath tickling her sensitive flesh. "I want you to relax your body completely Sakura, let me in."

A shiver ran down her spine and she could feel heat pooling within her again as she did what she was told. Kunoichi classes had spent a great deal of time teaching the girls how to forcibly relax their bodies so that no matter _how_ they lost their virginity, the pain would be minimal.

It was over in a single hard thrust. One moment she was a virgin, and the next she was a slightly uncomfortable, but fully-fledged woman.

Kakashi groaned, she hadn't screamed as he had been told most civilian girls and some of the less studious kunoichi did their first time; but he should have expected nothing less of Sakura. She never stopped studying until she had mastered something to the best of her abilities, but he still held himself unmoving within her, giving her time to adjust.

The feeling of Kakashi within her was not at all what Sakura thought it would feel like- it was… amazing. At first it was uncomfortable like she had overeaten and gotten a stomachache, only lower… but then she moved against him in an attempt to get more comfortable.

The feeling of him actually moving inside her ripped a moan from both of them and before she could think on it too deeply she felt his grip tighten on her hips and take control. He drew out of her almost completely before sliding back into her, forcing himself to go slow but filling her to the hilt; he repeated the motion again, and again in succession.

The feeling of his hands firmly gripping her hips combined with the faint sound of their groans and the heady scent of their sweat as he moved within her slowly sent Sakura reeling. She didn't know how she had lived so long without this, didn't know how she would ever be able to stop.

She could feel a coil tightening slowly within her as the minutes ticked by, the heat scorching her from within. Every time Kakashi withdrew Sakura couldn't stop the whimper from escaping her throat; and every time he forced himself back into her willing sheath she couldn't help but try to push her hips back against him.

He was holding her too firmly for her to increase the pace herself and she wanted to scream at him to go faster, harder… but she could barely breathe as it was. The coil within her was tightening to the point that it was almost painful and tears streamed down Sakura's face until she cried out breathlessly.

"Kami-sama, please Kakashi!" His head dropped between her shoulder blades with a tight grin plastered on his mask-covered face.

"Please what Sakura?" He was taunting her and she wanted to throttle him for playing with her like this, but when he began to slow his pace even further she couldn't hold back her agitation.

"Harder! Damn you, Kakashi!" As if he had been waiting only for her to ask, Kakashi finally put a little more force into each thrust, even as he tortured her with the same, slow pace. It was enough.

It was too much.

Everything inside of her burst without warning; black spots coloring her vision and destroying her ability to think as Kakashi continued to move within her. Each stroke sent electricity and heat through her until she couldn't hold on anymore and his name tore from her throat in a broken scream. "Kakashi!"

It was nothing like the last time. That had been overwhelming and had flooded her with warmth and a moment of contentment; but this ripped her apart and left her shaken to the core without even having the courtesy to put the pieces back together. She could feel her strength leave her, causing her knees to go weak; but still she wanted more.

It was a good thing, because Kakashi hadn't stopped but had begun to pound into her with more ferocity than before. He couldn't stop; the feeling of her tight vaginal walls clamping down on his already strained length broke what restraint he had left and he thrust into her ruthlessly, her cries doing nothing but encouraging him to thrust harder.

Sakura loved it. Everything she had wanted him to do last time he was doing now. She could feel herself grow hoarse from screaming his name and even he couldn't stop her from bucking against him on every violent thrust.

Panting, Kakashi tried to hold himself back, but he knew he was too close, he had held back for too long already. So as he continued his near violent assault he reached one hand around to rub circles into her engorged clit. Her reaction was instantaneous. She arched until she was nearly standing upright with her back against his still clothed chest, a soundless scream trying to escape her as her feminine walls clamped firmly down upon his thrusting cock, finally milking Kakashi of his seed as he ground into her a final time.

Unable to stand after the powerful climax Kakashi caught the edge of the mattress to keep himself and Sakura from hitting the floor. Taking a moment to catch his breath Kakashi looked down to find Sakura had passed out upon her final climax.

'_Hmm, __maybe __that __was __a __bit __much __for __a __virgin __to __handle__…_' Kakashi grinned as only a prideful, satiated male could. Sakura had succeeded in exceeding his expectations once again.

Once he had regained sufficient strength, Kakashi lifted Sakura and gingerly laid her down on the bed before pulling his pants back on and collapsing next to her. The clock by his bed only read a little before two in the afternoon, but Kakashi figured that after spending the morning teaching gennin, healing one of Konoha's most annoying nin, allowing herself to be seduced, and over an hour of sex with him, anyone would be tired… Hell, even he was considering taking a nap.

Setting the alarm for eight pm Kakashi smiled; they still had a lot to prepare before their morning wake-up call, but he couldn't resist the easy warmth of holding Sakura against him as he drifted off to sleep. This mission was quite possibly going to go _very_ badly, but _oh __Kami-sama_, how enjoyable the fall.

* * *

Wow, you know what's dirtier than writing porn? Re-writing it in an attempt to make it dirtier! Hope you all enjoyed!

Review? ^_^v


	3. Chapter 3: Preparations

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or any of its characters, that right is reserved for Masashi Kishimoto.

Please Read and Review, because it fills me with LOVE! Also, feel free to leave criticism or suggestions, I can take it! ^_^v

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Chapter 3: Preparations

When the sound of an alarm went off Sakura tried to use the pillow she had been laying on to block out the sound. She didn't even want to think about how the rest of the day was going to be if she woke up feeling this bad already. Tsunade would just have to wait, she needed a long, hot bath to help deal with these cramps first. But as the bed shifted and the alarm turned off Sakura sat up abruptly in a defensive stance, though sadly without the kunai she usually kept under her pillow.

The sight of Kakashi leisurely looking up at her caused her to remember exactly where she was, and why it was that her abdomen felt like someone had kicked her. "Oh… good morning…" Kakashi's eye crinkled into his usual smile as he pointed out the window behind her. She was surprised to see that the early March sun was just getting low in the sky, but had yet to actually set.

"It's not morning yet… though I wouldn't have been surprised if you had slept all night, I did wear you out a little I suppose..." Sakura gaped at his bold (but true) statement- he looked… smug.

"Arg!" She launched herself at him, determined to beat him senseless, but was stopped by his hands holding her wrists.

"Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of time tonight. There are still a few things I need to teach you…" Sakura could feel the blush burning her cheeks as she wrenched her wrists free from his grip. She forced herself not to cover her body or look away from his eye, very soon that wouldn't even be an option.

"Shouldn't I…" Kakashi looked at her intently as she took a deep breath and forced calm into her body and professionalism into her voice; they didn't have time for her to go into hysterics over the loss of something as inconsequential as her virginity.

"I need to put out the cover for my absence as well as get my supplies. I could take care of it and be back by eleven." Kakashi studied her with a more critical eye, and Sakura kept herself from showing discomfort by force of will.

Now that he wasn't preoccupied with it, Kakashi could tell that anyone looking at her naked body would never believe her to be younger than her actual age. "Do you have any ideas yet about how to pass for younger?" The look Sakura gave him clearly stated that she had no idea what he was talking about.

"You'll never pass for younger than sixteen when you're naked." He said it without inflection, as a simple fact, but Sakura couldn't help her blush. She knew that it wasn't really meant as a compliment, but it still made her feel better about herself. It also caused her to worry at her lower lip and turn her eyes away in thought.

"I hadn't thought of that yet…" Eyes shooting back up to his she spoke with more determination than she felt. "I'll think of something by tonight." The confidence in her eyes challenged him to contradict her, but he simply nodded before continuing.

"I don't think we'll get much sleep for the next few days, so try to grab some soldier pills if you can." He said this blithely but it made Sakura's eyes widen. Kakashi didn't approve of soldier pills in general, so for him to make the suggestion meant something more than fear of a couple sleepless nights.

"Exactly how big of an exit are we making?" Kakashi didn't reply and Sakura's heart beat a little faster as he reached over the edge of the bed and dug around for a moment before holding out a mission scroll.

"Memorize it and then destroy it." Kakashi didn't release the scroll for a moment, forcing her to look into his eyes. "I'll see you at eleven." Sakura nodded as she took the scroll he had finally relinquished.

She took a moment to pull on her spandex shorts, skirt, bra and top before pocketing her flower printed cotton panties (though not quickly enough for Kakashi to miss the faint blush she sported as a result of seeing them lying openly on his floor) and then she was jumping out the window without a backwards glance.

Her destination was the shinobi equipment storage, located between Hokage tower and Anbu headquarters. (Which was only a short walk from Kakashi's apartment) It was heavily guarded, but upon becoming a jounin Sakura had been informed of a specific entrance guarded by Anbu. They were instructed to inspect anyone attempting to enter, but if you were of sufficient rank they would allow you passage and 'forget' you had been there in the first place.

This procedure had been instituted for missions precisely like this, since the main entrance was closely monitored and known to the entire community. It wasn't all that fun being slightly man-handled by the two Anbu guards, but it was better than blowing her cover. Besides, this entrance was closer to the things she had come for.

It didn't take her long to find the solder pills Kakashi had requested, and even the temporary hair dye that would be mixed into her shampoo regularly during the mission didn't take long to find… but the third item she had come to find took her significantly longer.

When Sakura was younger she would have killed for the fast acting diet pills; (Guaranteed to make you lose at least ten pounds in a week!) but nowadays it wasn't something she had actually envisioned herself using. It was a definite health risk, but Sakura couldn't think of another quick solution to her problem.

Of all the weapons in her arsenal, it was Sakura's fast thinking that had gotten her jounin status at sixteen. Unlike Kakashi, Sakura couldn't come up with ideas seemingly out of thin air; but she could go through her large library of a brain and find topics related to what she wanted at the speed of light. In just the amount of time it had taken her to leave Kakashi's apartment, be harassed by the guards, and find the first two items Sakura had already come up with the perfect plan to keep her cover.

As she left the storage house feeling triumphant Sakura walked into town and headed for the Yamanaka flower shop. It would have closed half an hour ago, but Sakura knew that Ino would still be cleaning up and preparing the shop for tomorrow morning. She grinned, Ino could drive her crazy with her incessant gossiping sometimes, but today her annoying tendencies were going to come in handy.

With a grin on her face and a skip in her step she blatantly ignored the 'closed' sign on the door and stepped inside, the bell above the door ringing with her entrance. "I'm sorry we're…" Ino stopped as she came around the corner and saw Sakura. "Oh, hey forehead! You need something?"

Sakura frowned in mock consternation. "I can't visit you without having an ulterior motive?" Ino rolled her eyes.

"Not when I just saw you yesterday, what's up?" Sakura pretended to suppress a grin before furrowing her brow and crossing her arms under her breast.

"I don't know what you're talking about pig." Ino sighed with a barely suppressed smile and poked her in the side.

"Spill, I can tell you want to." Finally Sakura allowed a Cheshire grin to take over her face, and (with the image of Ino's angry face when she learned the truth keeping her smile firmly in place) laid out her story like a fairy tale.

* * *

Kakashi waited until Sakura had dressed and firmly shut the door behind her before getting dressed himself. He had absolute faith that she would come up with something to keep her cover during their mission.

In fact, his faith in her was so great, that he actually felt no need to double-check her preparations. It had been a very long time since Kakashi had gone into an undercover mission with complete faith in his partner, unless of course it was a solo mission.

But Sakura was someone he had known for years, more than that; she was someone who had proven herself time and again. The only thing she seemed to even have in common with boy crazy little girl he had first met was her pink hair and fiery temper.

Every year since then she had grown more determined to prove she was strong enough to do whatever was asked of her. She had first begun pushing herself so she would never be too weak to save her comrades again, but the stronger she became the stronger she wanted to be.

As a result she had mastered more medical jutsu than anyone besides Tsunade herself, become more than proficient in taijutsu, (becoming a target almost impossible to hit) and learned enough of both earth and fire jutsu to become a jounin at the age of sixteen.

It was enough to impress even the stoic Kakashi, but what impressed him most was the air with which she carried herself. She was confident, but knew her limits; intelligent enough to know she wasn't always right, and willing to do anything that was required of her. All in all Sakura had become a Kunoichi to be admired.

And though Kakashi wouldn't have wished for this to be Sakura's first mission as a jounin, he was glad that she would be his partner. She was more than up to the task.

A memory of her earlier came back to him in a rush, and Kakashi had to admit that she was a little too good at this already. He was glad that by nature of his 'escape' he would need to find a new residence upon his return, because the image of Sakura's perfectly toned ass sticking up in the air waiting for his attention was going to haunt him for much longer than he cared to think about already.

Shaking off the thought Kakashi went about making his own preparations. He had to pack anything that he didn't want to risk losing to the investigation crew after his hasty departure, including his favorite books.

Already used to packing for such missions Kakashi found himself done with his own preparations in less than an hour. But when Kakashi settled back on his bed with Icha-Icha Tactics he found his mind wandering back to the soft suppleness of Sakura's skin and with a groan forced himself to get up and take a very cold shower.

This mission might not be as bad as he had first feared, but it also wasn't going to be as easy as he had assumed it would be after he found out that Sakura was his actual partner either. It was out of his hands however- it had already begun. So when he finished toweling off he re-dressed and settled down to wait for his pink haired counterpart to return.

* * *

Sakura opened her front door and slumped back against it once it closed. It hadn't taken much to get Ino to believe her story of traveling the countryside with a renowned botanist to further her knowledge base on the plants of other countries, but it had been stressful lying to her best friend with a smile on her face.

It had been almost too easy, all she had to do was mention how handsome he was and then deny her own interest in him, with just enough emphasis to have Ino believing it to be too much.

By tomorrow morning Ino would be out telling the whole village that Sakura had run away with the 'botanist' to spend the rest of her life picking plants and having babies. (It wouldn't matter to Ino that even she didn't _really_ believe what she was saying, she'd say it just to get a rise out of Sakura upon her return.)

It _had_ been very hard to extricate herself from the conversation Ino insisted on having about Neji and their upcoming date. Was Sakura _sure_ she had to leave before then? Because Ino couldn't imagine not having her there to talk to afterwards…

Sakura had had to insist that the botanist was leaving tonight and she barely had enough time to get ready before they left as it was before Ino finally let her leave. Though still not before forcing Sakura to promise to tell her everything that happened when she returned; not believing for a second that this would be as boring a trip as Sakura was making it out to be.

With a deep sigh Sakura pushed herself from the door and sank onto the plush sofa to read the mission scroll. It was about what she had expected from what Tsunade had already said and from Kakashi's unusual seriousness.

She had been a little surprised that there would be real Anbu after them, (with instructions to kill Kakashi nonetheless!) though it did explain him suddenly asking her to pick up soldier pills. She was also greatly relieved that it hadn't been the Hokage's intention to have her sleep with the whole encampment to maintain her cover. At this point she had decided that she would balk at _nothing_ in order to complete this mission successfully, but it was nice to know regardless.

She hadn't been so thrilled to learn that it would likely take them three months just to make contact with the rouges, but the only problem Sakura really had at this point was having to be completely obedient to Kakashi, at _all_ times.

Since they wouldn't necessarily know when they were being watched they would have to run on the assumption that they always were. Meaning that starting tomorrow morning, Sakura would have to be 'Saki' twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week until their mission was over… It would take some getting used to.

Tsunade had suggested that she practice Hinata like timidity, (though perhaps not to the same degree) as her own self-assuredness would never pass inspection as a young girl who had run away from home with her sensei. It didn't matter that Sakura agreed with Tsunade, it still rankled… but that didn't matter either.

The only thing that did matter was doing this right. This was not a mission she could have any hope to succeed in or even survive if she didn't put everything she had into becoming someone else. For the duration of this mission she would become Saki, a slightly timid girl madly in love with her sensei.

After re-reading the scroll several times until she had completely memorized the details concerning their targets, Sakura burned it with a small stream of fire from her lips, being careful that nothing of it remained.

Looking up at the clock Sakura noticed that almost two hours had passed already and jumped up from the sofa to run into her bedroom. She had already asked Ino to come by tomorrow and clear out her refrigerator and put sheets over her furniture, so she really only needed to worry about getting ready, but that was enough.

She started by taking a shower and adding some of the hair dye to her shampoo, being careful to dye her eyebrows too. It was weird seeing herself in the mirror when she got out, but she forced herself to be critical... How did shy little girls wear their hair?

With a smile Sakura pulled out a pair of scissors and cut just enough hair to give her thin bangs, long enough to cover her eyes if she was looking down. Looking into the mirror again she noted that she could now pull off that 'innocent' look she had been unable to do since she first became a gennin, it made her smile.

Sticking her tongue out at her reflection she left the bathroom and headed into the bedroom. After putting on a clean pair of panties Sakura bound her breasts as tightly as she could. It was painful but she had endured worse, besides, this was only supposed to be a temporary solution to this particular problem.

It took Sakura almost fifteen minutes to find the box of non-training clothes from a few years ago, but when she did it only took her a moment to find what she had been looking for. She had two baby doll dresses her mother had bought for her twelfth birthday, one in blue and the other in the same green as her eyes.

When she had gotten them they had been just a little loose in the top and had gone down just past her knees. Now, as she put on the blue one, she was pleased to find it just fit her breasts (thanks mainly to the breast bindings from hell) and ended a good three inches above her knees.

The effect of this was exactly what she had wanted. Her breasts looked small due to the binding, and the neckline was high enough that you wouldn't see any cleavage unless she leaned over. The waistline fell at the slimmest point of her waist, and the flare of the dress camouflaged her wide hips. Add to this the 'lost child' look the loose black hair provided and Sakura wouldn't have been surprised if someone mistook her for eleven or twelve.

Looking at herself right now the only thing about her that hinted at her age was her height, which could easily be overlooked as her being tall for her age, whatever age people guessed her to be.

Sakura put her stretch shorts back on under the skirt to keep anything from showing when she ran, and added her gennin sandals, happy to find that they miraculously still fit her. Glancing at the clock she finished packing in a whirl of clothes, weapons and supplies. When she was done she picked up her bag and gave a last look around her apartment before bolting the door and taking to the rooftops.

The wind against her face as she ran was soothingly mild and the cloudless sky twinkled merrily with a thousand stars. Sakura reflected briefly that she didn't look at the stars all that often, usually preferring the warmth of the sun to the quiet beauty nighttime could provide; but maybe she would do so more often in the future…

When Kakashi's complex came into view a wicked idea came to her and she dropped to the ground with a smirk and entered through the main door. It was a quick walk up the one flight of stairs and down the hall before she was standing in front of apartment 206.

Sakura set her pack down next to the doorway (out of immediate view), and knocked timidly on the door; waiting a moment without response before knocking again with a little more force.

* * *

When Kakashi finally got up to answer the door he thought it was odd that Sakura hadn't just jumped in through his window, or even walked in after a courtesy knock, (she was expected after all) but the knocking had continued. When he did open the door he had a flashback to the young Reika entering the Hokage's office.

The girl before him stood with her hands behind her back and her eyes downcast timidly as if waiting for him to say something; as if he should _know_ why she was standing there. For a second he was convinced Sakura had sent another gennin to tell him she was running late again, but something just seemed a little off with that theory.

"Yes?" At his questioning tone the striking green eyes glanced up at him through black bangs. The girl worried her lip nervously, but she still managed a smile that belied knowledge a child should never know.

"I came just like you told me sensei… I even brought my pack in case…" Her sentence trailed off as a blush spread quickly across her cheeks and down her neck. She looked away from him in embarrassment before picking up a moderately large pack and dragging it into the doorway. When she looked back up at him her eyes were filled with adoration.

Kakashi absorbed the image for a full ten seconds before managing his typical smile. "Saki, punctual as usual!" Her blush deepened and her eyes fell to the floor once more. Kakashi couldn't help but be impressed by Sakura's acting abilities.

He reached out a hand to take her bag, his hand brushing lightly against hers as he did. "Here, let me take that for you." With just the slightest of nods she allowed him to take the heavy pack from her and stepped inside his apartment, closing the door behind her.

As soon as the door was locked firmly Kakashi pulled her further into the room and walked around her, surveying her critically. "It's good. I knew you were coming and _still_ thought it was someone else until you mentioned I had invited you… What about when you're naked?" Sakura held back the blush his comment wanted to produce and smiled as she explained, immensely pleased with her idea.

"I took some of the emergency weight loss pills from storage." She held in her laughter at Kakashi's baffled expression. "The first place I always lose weight is my breasts so I should be down to this size without bindings in a week or two, and the rest of me isn't too far off from what we're going for anyway so that should be enough time for me to stand up to inspection. After that…" This time she was unable to hold back the blush that colored her cheeks, but she forced herself not to look away.

"We'll say that I'm pregnant. It will explain why I will fill out more quickly than an average girl, though I'll have to be careful not to gain the weight back too quickly… anyway, I won't need to continue taking diet pills which might look suspicious if they notice me taking them." Kakashi looked like he was about to interrupt her so she spoke again before he could.

"As a med nin I can hold back my period for a while; so I figure we can keep up the pretence for maybe three to four months before I should have started to really show. At that point I'll force my period and come crying to you about the 'miscarriage.' Even if I don't lose any weight afterwards no one should be too suspicious."

Kakashi couldn't decide whether to be incredulous or impressed so he settled for amused. Letting out a light chuckle he patted her shoulder, enjoying this as one of the last moments they could be themselves for a long while. But after a moment their smiles dimmed, there was too little time left.

After another moment Kakashi cleared his throat. He tried to tell himself that this wasn't really as awkward as it felt, but he couldn't help feeling like a pedophile just looking at her. Sure he _knew_ she was of age… Hell, he'd even touched her naked flesh! (Flesh that was _very_ definitely of age) But right now, if he didn't _know_ she was Sakura, he wouldn't have placed her at a day over twelve.

His face became deadly calm and Sakura could tell that the 'lessons' were about to begin again. This time she figured she'd save him some trouble and grabbed the bottom of her dress with the intention of taking it off. "Leave it on." She looked up at him, confused.

"I have to… get used to you looking like that." It dawned on Sakura suddenly that her thoughts about Kakashi not being _able_ to have sex with a child was well founded, it had only been her belief that _she_ looked like a child that was wrong… but now she _did_ look like a child.

"Kakashi…" He cut her off before she could continue.

"Sensei, Saki should always call me sensei. If you call me Kakashi it's like we're on even ground, when I'm actually supposed to be taking advantage of you." Sakura's face registered surprise for a moment, but it passed as she saw the practicality of what he was asking of her. This too was something they would have to get used to.

Her posture changed, and when she timidly looked at the floor and played with the hem of her skirt she was instantly another person; smaller, and as fragile as the child she was pretending to be. She _was_ Saki.

It made Kakashi feel dirty.

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei…" The blush didn't return, but she kept glancing up at him with eyes too filled with admiration. They lied far too well for their own good… though perfectly for the mission.

He stepped forward and forced his hands to caress a trail down her arms and lower, allowing his hands to trial all the way down to her ankles before running them back up under her skirt. Her eyes were wide, watching him all the while. She looked transfixed, but she was also breathing a little heavier.

Kakashi held her eyes as he slowly pulled down the fabric keeping him from what he needed to do, but when she had stepped free of her shorts and panties he was behind her again, like he had been last time. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Shhh Saki," his hand gently caressed the side of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. "I like having you like this, I like touching you," He emphasized this by lightly cupping her bound breasts. "I love smelling you," He breathed deeply of her hair. "I love making love to you," He suddenly ground himself against her firm backside. "like this."

Sakura could hardly breathe. She didn't understand how he could seduce her like this, calling her by another name from a fake life, lying to her knowingly. How was it possible that she could feel heat pooling within her? But her heart still skipped as he pushed her to stand facing a wall and placed her hands against it.

His hand once again trailed up her thigh to teasingly trace the outer lips of her sex. She shivered delicately as his fingers ghosted over her clit before tracing it more firmly. His other hand had also worked its way up her skirt but was busy firmly gripping her bare hip as he began to roll her clit a little harder, drawing a gasp from her lips.

He teased her mercilessly, going faster and faster until she couldn't think, and then slowing down to a crawl until she begged him properly. "Please sensei!" Kakashi smiled because she followed the act he had planned as if she had been following a script; but he didn't give in. He wouldn't allow her to come yet.

He teased her engorged nub until he felt liquid heat dripping down her thighs, then he ran his middle finger through her folds and plunged it within her. Pumping in and out of her slowly, smiling at her panting breaths. When she begged him again, "please sensei, please _more!_" he inserted a second finger and continued his tortuously slow pace.

His free hand drew patterns against her skin as he worked her into a frenzy. His fingers moving within her finally picking up their pace, bringing her to the edge of oblivion. And then, without warning he withdrew his fingers from her completely.

Kakashi had closed his eye during this, simply listening to the glorious sounds she produced. Without looking at her he could imagine her as she had been before, could feel the tight heat of her. It was enough to finally cause him to harden against her, all thoughts of being a pedophile gone for at least the duration of the night.

Sakura wanted to yell at him for stopping before turning around and forcing him to continue, but as Saki she would never be so bold. So she allowed herself no more that a whimper of unquenched desire, and ground herself against him in an attempt to feel a little more.

Kakashi felt triumphant, she would do anything he told her right now if he would just continue. Of course he didn't have any intention of stopping, he was simply taking his time watching her become frustrated. But before she could actually become angry he pulled his pants and boxers down just enough to free his throbbing length from its confines.

The hot liquid dripping down her thighs told him that she was ready for him so he entered her without warning, thrilling in the feel of her clenched around him as they moaned together. He didn't bother to hold back now that he knew how much she could take, but she had already been so close that with just a few strokes the walls of her womb were pulsing, attempting to milk him as she screamed. "Sensei!"

Kakashi was secretly proud of her for having enough presence of mind to scream his title versus his name. It would help him later. During the mission he could claim a fetish for the title, and after the mission he wouldn't have to dream about her screaming his name.

As with everything else, he had learned this lesson the hard way.

Kakashi hadn't allowed himself to come, knowing that there was a reason they were doing this; that there was still more he had to teach her, he couldn't stop here. But when he pulled out of her pulsing womb and placed the head of his straining cock at the entrance to her lusciously toned backside he could feel her tense under his hands. He rubbed a circle against her stomach with the hand not gripping her hip and spoke quietly into her ear.

"Relax Sakura." She wanted to listen to him, but she was scared. She had never done this before and everything she had ever heard about it had been very bad.

"But…" Kakashi's head dropped to her shoulder and his voice came out as little more than a harsh whisper.

"I can't guarantee that no one else there will touch you Sakura. I will do my best, but maintaining our cover is more important… I don't want you to experience this for the first time with someone who might seriously hurt you." Sakura bit her lip in anxiety but she could see his logic. Unable to say the words she forced herself to nod.

"Relax for me like you did yesterday." She nodded again before forcing her muscles to become loose and pliable. His hand rubbing soothing circles against her stomach helped.

As he entered her, already coated in her natural lubricants, she felt a burning sensation. It was more painful than yesterday and she couldn't stop the tears from dripping down her face as she bit her lip to keep from crying out; but Kakashi didn't move until she had time to become accustomed to it, and even then he began very slowly.

It was a strange sensation, painful to the point of making her fear losing concentration and tensing again, but after almost ten minutes of his slow rhythm she was able to relax a little more; and after a few more minutes, there wasn't even anymore pain.

Sakura was surprised, she had been told by civilians and kunoichi alike that this was beyond painful, that there was no pleasure to be had in it, but as he continued pumping into her slowly, his fingers digging into her hips as he held himself back from thrusting too hard, she could feel the heat pooling very slowly within her again.

The sound of their harsh breathing intermingled with the scents of sweat and sex, leaving Kakashi dizzy with the feeling of it. He was so close to coming he had to bite the inside of his cheek when she moaned. "Sensei…"

He couldn't tell if she was in pain or not but he was too close to hold back for much longer so he reached one hand around to press harsh circles into her clit. Instantly her breathing hitched, and she couldn't hold back a cry "Sensei don't…"

Blood was pounding through his ears to the point where he could barely think, but he bit his lip till it bled and stopped moving. He held her shuttering body against him as she sobbed.

"No… Sensei, don't stop. Please don't…" Her words trailed off as he slammed himself into her with more force than before, his finger once more pushing her quickly over the edge. If she asked him to stop again, he honestly didn't know if he could. He was so close already and her panted words, begging him not to stop threatened to undo him any minute now.

It was too much; it hurt when he thrust into her ass with such reckless abandon, but it felt good too… she felt like she was falling apart, not knowing if she wanted him to slow down or thrust harder.

Kakashi hadn't let go like this for a very long time, and he couldn't help himself from withdrawing his fingers from abusing her engorged clit and sinking them into her weeping entrance. He pumped two fingers deep inside her in rhythm with his hips, causing her to arch back against him. And when he felt her vaginal walls begin to tighten around his fingers he pressed down against her nub harshly with his other hand. Her climax was instantaneous.

Unable to so much as scream anymore Sakura dived headfirst over the edge, lights exploding behind her eyes as she felt Kakashi empty himself within her. Together they collapsed to the floor, Kakashi having only enough energy to maneuver them to fall on their sides and avoid crushing her beneath his dead weight.

They lay there for so long Sakura felt the sweat on her skin begin to dry, forcing her to realize how cold the room actually was, sending a chill down her spine; but still they lay there for a long while afterwards.

Kakashi held her as she shook, though she was unsure if it was from her tremendous climax, from the cold, or from the pain that still forced tears to slip silently down her cheeks.

It was several long minutes before she was able to stop herself from shaking, but when she did she felt Kakashi delicately lift her hair to his masked nose. He breathed in deeply of her floral scented hair and whispered just loud enough for her to hear him over her pounding heart. "Good girl Saki, you were perfect…"

* * *

This is my second or third revision of this chapter. During my hiatus I decided that I wanted the sex scenes to be at least a little realistic- so here it is! Review? ^_^v


	4. Chapter 4: In earnest

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or any of its characters, that right is reserved for Masashi Kishimoto.

Please Read and Review, because it fills me with LOVE! Also, feel free to leave criticism or suggestions, I can take it! ^_^v

* * *

Chapter 4: In Earnest

Almost an hour after Kakashi had gathered the energy to pick them both off the floor; Sakura found herself relaxing her sore, never-before-used muscles in his bathtub, filled with scalding hot water that came within an inch of boiling her. Not that Sakura was complaining.

Kakashi had taken a shower after lying her down on his overly comfy bed, and then run the bath for her. She had been surprised that he had thought of something so comforting for her. He had, after all, said that she was his first virgin; so did it really make sense that he would know what she really needed right now?

Probably not, but he wasn't a genius for nothing. Even still, after a good ten minutes of basking in the almost unbearable heat of the water Sakura had found her mood turning sour.

The moment Kakashi had spoken her false identities name into her hair Sakura had finally, fully grasped what 'at all times' meant. It had been an unpleasant understanding. Not so much because she wanted him to call her name during sex, or that she felt cheated on, or anything else so naive. She just wanted the acknowledgement for herself.

It sounded stupid to even think it… but Kakashi had always been so sparing with his compliments that she wanted the acknowledgement, even if it was for something like being able to handle her first encounter with anal sex…

Sakura groaned at how pathetic that sounded but didn't even bother trying to lie to herself, she really was the type of person who got jealous over compliments.

Sakura forced herself not to react when Kakashi entered the bathroom without knocking. Since he'd already seen everything she just stayed as she was, attempting to relax against the back of the tub with her arm propped up on either side holding her up. She didn't react when she noticed Kakashi appreciate her breasts floating in the water, and was mostly successful in beating down the blush threatening to take over her face as she turned her attention away slightly.

When she heard him sit on the toilet seat, just behind her and to the right she looked back at him. He was fully clothed in his usual jounin pants and fitted top with attached mask, looking as if nothing at all unusual had happened in the last day. It irritated her.

"Are you ever going to take off more than your pants Kakashi? Don't you think it will seem suspicious if you never take off your mask or clothing for your lover?" Kakashi smiled at her benignly.

"If the situation calls for it. Remember though, you're not my lover, you're my victim." He chuckled as Sakura scoffed.

"My persona doesn't think she's a victim, wouldn't any girl in love wonder why their lover won't even kiss them?" Before Kakashi could argue she cut him off again. "I understand trying to maintain our personal distance Kakashi, but seriously, if I'm going to keep my cover I need a logical reason for NOT minding such things. Cause I'll tell you right now, if I were really your lover I wouldn't put up with it."

Kakashi winced a bit at her words before building his rebuttal. "_You__'__re_ NOT my lover though, Saki is; and I'm quite sure she's too timid to argue the point." Sakura rolled her eyes at his supposed 'logic.'

"She might not fight you on it, but she would be _hurt._ Girls that age can be sensitive you know…" And he _did_ know.

Kakashi could still look back and remember the dark cloud that would pass over Sakura every time Sasuke denied her requests for dates. She seemed to shrug it off and be ready to ask again the next day, but each time he walked away it took her longer to recover. It wasn't the type of pain that was easy to fake.

With a sigh Kakashi rubbed his temple in frustration. "Can't we just say that I'm really ugly?" Sakura laughed and poked him in the forehead.

"Not unless you can ABSOLUTELY guarantee not to allow any of _them_ to see you either." At his glare she sighed and settled back in the tub again. "Come on Kakashi, it can't be _that_ bad."

For a long while Kakashi said nothing, immersing himself in his thoughts as Sakura sunk below the water. He watched her as she emerged and began running soap over her body. He had reasons not to let her see his face, and though they may seem unfounded to Sakura, who had been a virgin less than twelve hours ago; they were wholly based in experience.

No, he couldn't play this game with her when things were going to be bad enough already.

"No good." Sakura looked at him curiously as she scrubbed the sweat from her body.

"Hm?" He shook his head again.

"Saki's just going to have to be hurt then; I'll come up with my own reasons if anyone else asks, but the mask stays on." Sakura looked at him blankly, analyzing how far she could push it before shrugging.

"What about the rest of it?" For a second Kakashi didn't know what she was talking about.

"Rest?" Sakura rolled her eyes as she stopped looking at him to rinse the soap from her chest and arms.

"Your clothes. Are you going to be fully clothed at all times too?" Her tone was serious, but he could see a hint of a mocking smile on her lips, and after a moment he shrugged.

"I generally sleep without my shirt on, and so long as the mask stays on I don't particularly care whether I'm naked or not. It just hasn't been necessary yet." Sakura rolled her eyes at this.

"Is foreplay always one sided for you then?" Kakashi actually felt the need to fight down his own blush at her offhandedly-bold question.

"That's not…"

"But it is." Sakura cut him off. "Saki can't just lie there like a doll doing nothing, if it's supposed to be _that_ type of relationship then you'll have to beat me to excuse my inaction." Her eyes bore into him coldly. "Stop trying to make my job harder just to make your life easier Kakashi. Keep your damn mask on if you need your little security blanket so badly, but don't sabotage the mission just so you can pretend I'm not physically attracted to you."

Kakashi's eyes bugged out a little bit at her words and Sakura fought to hold back the blush that threatened to cover her cheeks as she looked down at the soapy water. "It's a little late for that, ne?"

The tension in the room hung for long moments before Kakashi sighed; and to keep her from saying something else to make him feel like an ass, he leaned forward and began to rub her shoulders. "Okay Sakura, point taken."

Sakura couldn't respond with more than an appreciative moan as his fingers dug into a knot she didn't even know was there and released it. He smiled as his fingers found another knot and dug into it as well. For the next fifteen minutes he repeated the process, robbing her body of the tension that had built up while Sakura moaned, and winced, and then sagged contentedly after he finished.

"That was better than sex…"

The feeling of his eyes boring into her caused Sakura to turn and look at him. Kakashi's raised brow made her realize exactly what she had just said and she blushed as she attempted to amend herself. "I mean… not better, but good…"

Her face went horribly red with embarrassment, which served to cause her to become angry with herself. "Geez, it's just an expression!"

Kakashi smiled benignly, not bothering to avoid the wave of water she sloshed at him. "Hmm, glad to know I'm not losing my touch." Sakura's eye twitched but she forced herself not to respond to him, instead simply sinking back into the now lukewarm water and close her eyes.

Kakashi stood and walked to the door, throwing over his shoulder, "don't fall asleep in the tub."

Sakura stuck her tongue out at the closing door and sat back to think. She was relieved. The greatest fear Sakura had had about this whole thing had been that she would become infatuated with her partner, which was one of the reasons she had chosen Kakashi; but she had still been worried. Nothing was different though… well except that she didn't care if he saw her naked and was actually enjoying having sex with him… but the way they interacted was the same.

Thinking back Sakura could remember when he had treated her as little more than a lovesick child, but then she _had_ been back then. For quite a while she had thought he was neglecting her training in favor of the boys because she was weak or less than them in some way, but eventually she came to see that he wasn't neglecting her; she was neglecting him.

Kakashi focused on the boys because they came to him eager to learn anything he could teach them. Sakura on the other hand had been content to watch her precious Sasuke.

Sasuke… it struck her that it had been a long time since she had allowed herself to think about the man she had once made the center of all her hopes and dreams. They had heard of Orochimaru's death almost a year ago and Itachi's only six months ago, but Sasuke had never returned.

Sakura had acknowledged to herself a while ago that what she had felt for him had been a combination of admiration and infatuation, not love; but that didn't change the fact that she was worried about him. Whatever else, Sasuke was like part of her family, and you didn't forget your family, even if they forgot about you.

Sakura tried not to think about her actual family too often either. As civilians it had always been hard for them to accept or even understand some of the choices Sakura made. They were proud of her for becoming one of the elite, but they still felt that she was a child. She tried to explain that she had been through and done more in the last five years than a normal twenty-year-old civilian, but they had seen her logic as the excuses of a stubborn teenager.

And it didn't help matters that since she had become a chuunin her parents no longer had any legal say over her life, only what control she chose to give them…

The last time her parents had even really spoken to her had been when she said she was moving into an apartment that was closer to the hospital. The resulting argument had been monumental. The infamous Haruno temper was something she had inherited from her father, and there hadn't been a soul in a four block radius of her parents house that didn't know Sakura was not allowed even to visit, without having first accepted _their_ rules.

Being ignored by her parents for the last month and a half had been hard, but Sakura was enough like her father to refuse to give in so easily. Sure, sometimes she wanted to lay her head on her mother's lap as her soft fingers ran through Sakura's hair; or even have a heated debate over the state of the world with her father… but she wasn't going to admit that when it was _they_ who had cut _her_ out of their lives.

Sakura was too busy most of the time to think about such things anyway. Between shifts at the hospital, missions, and training, Sakura was almost never sitting still long enough to worry about how isolated she had become. Of course she still had plenty of friends, and her teammates… _ex_-teammates who she considered to be like family. (Even the ever-infuriating Sai!) But everyone else was just as busy as she was, and even the occasional nights out with Ino had dwindled down to once every other week. It was almost pathetic.

A long sigh escaped her as she stood up from the rapidly cooling water. Looking around the tidy bathroom Sakura was pleased to see that Kakashi had left a fresh towel on the toilet seat for her. It made her want to laugh, Kakashi seemed to be methodical in everything he did… he just didn't want people to see that about him.

His weird compulsion to put things in their place, or (like in the case of her towel) where they needed to be, was simply a part of who he was. Nothing worth fretting over.

But still… it made her smile.

After rubbing the last of the water from her body Sakura dressed herself in the clothes she had brought in with her. (Really the same outfit she had been wearing, just with a clean pair of panties.) It took her a couple minutes to wrap the breast bindings tight enough, but she managed to do so with a little more deftness than the last time.

She double-checked that everything was in its place when she finished before opening the door and heading towards the bedroom to hopefully get a few more hours of sleep. It was going to be a long morning.

* * *

Kakashi sat on his couch waiting for the previously pink haired kunoichi to finish her bath while he contemplated just how hard this mission was going to be. In all practical senses he thought the mission would be a success, but he was worried. What worried him was that the second time they had had sex Kakashi had felt the need to imagine her as she had been that afternoon, herself.

He was worried about what this could mean when they returned.

Almost since his first 'optional' mission Kakashi had had the rule of taking the women from behind unless it was necessary to do otherwise. The image of a woman in climax was one that clung to his brain and taunted him for months or even years, making it significantly more difficult to act normal around them when the mission was over.

But what really worried Kakashi was that he hadn't been _able_ to make himself hard until he had closed his eyes and imagined her as she had been that afternoon. Relying on the smell of her hair and sound of her hitched breathing to paint a complete picture in his mind.

The memory of introducing Sakura to the pleasures of the flesh had been enough to last the rest of the encounter, but if he had to continue to do so he was worried it would become a habit he would come to rely on, but what else could he do?

He was jerked from his morose thoughts by the sound of the bathroom door opening. When she didn't enter the living room he walked down the short hall to his bedroom just in time to see her crawl under the warm quilt on his bed. He looked down at her for a moment, making a decision within himself that he dearly hoped would save him from her.

"Saki." After a moment her leaf green eyes opened and looked up at him with timid warmth.

"Hai sensei?" His eyes trailed over child-like appearance, focusing on the parts of her that would always make him think of her in her normal state.

Her delicate hands that remained unscarred despite everything she had put them through, her forehead that only she seemed to think was overly large, and her eyes… eyes that would haunt him if he weren't careful.

"I'm going to set the alarm for seven. We'll have breakfast before concluding our lessons." Her eyes seemed to get a little larger as if she were surprised and he would almost swear that her blush was real as she gave him that same timid smile.

"Hai." With that she closed her eyes again, not moving a muscle as he took off his shirt (leaving the mask on) and climbed into bed beside her, pulling her back against his chest and breathing deeply of her hair.

"Goodnight Saki." Her soft hands overlapped his on her stomach and she pulled him just the slightest bit closer.

"Goodnight sensei."

* * *

Standing impatiently outside the Hokage's office Genma noted than nine am had come far sooner than he would have liked. Maybe it was because he was about to tarnish a good friend's name… but more likely it was because it had taken him most of the night to break into Anbu and steal the uniform he was now wearing, leaving him almost no time to sleep.

Either way, when the clock chimed nine am he did his best impression of an Anbu in his silent, yet instant entry of Tsunade's office. Just to the right of him in the windowed office stood a neko faced Anbu with perfect posture staring directly ahead. Turning his head back around to find a cold sober and serious looking Tsunade Genma found himself straitening slightly as well.

"There is a man currently hiding in Rock Country with information we need." With a flick of her wrist a scroll came flying and the neko masked man caught it easily. "The details you'll need are there…" Her face suddenly became more annoyed. "Your leader _should_ have been here by now, but since Hatake has decided to sleep in I suggest you wake him yourselves. I have no patience for the man this morning."

Genma and the real Anbu bowed before disappearing from her office in a cloud of smoke. As they reappeared outside and began their journey over the rooftops towards Kakashi's apartment Genma made a mental note that Tsunade could lie easily with the best of them. He already knew from experience that she could detect a lie as easily… most of the time in any case.

As far as Genma knew Kakashi was the only person who could look her strait in the eye and lie convincingly, but Genma was also pretty sure that Kakashi had done that only once, so maybe it was really just a fluke…

His musing ended as they landed on the roof of said nin's building and walked over the edge, gripping the outer wall with chakra laden feet as they made their way to his living room window.

It took nothing to open the window as Kakashi kept them unlocked while he was home for instances like this. The first thing Genma noticed was the smell of miso soup and rice, (which made him remember that he had yet to eat today) but as he looked around the pristine living room and kitchen he could find no sign of anything out of place.

The second thing he noticed was a low, unmistakably sexual moan coming from the Copy nin's bedroom. Even knowing what he was going to be walking in on Genma managed to sound reasonably disgusted that _this_ was the latest reason for Kakashi's tardiness with a snort as he headed for the bedroom, followed after a second by the slightly surprised Anbu.

He opened the door neither too quietly for the Copy nin not to hear, nor too loudly to force his attention and stopped dead in his tracks in the doorway. Genma didn't have to fake the shocked tensing of his muscles or catch in his breath, he hadn't expected what he was seeing.

Kakashi sat at the end of his bed with his right shoulder facing the door, giving his visitors a perfect view of the girl who Genma had been told was Sakura going down on him. His fingers were buried in short black hair, guiding the girl's head as it bobbed up and down in his lap. The girl in question was on her knees before him, gripping his thighs in small soft hands.

Genma didn't move when he was nudged by the Anbu behind him, forcing the man to poke his head over Genma's shoulder to see. He didn't seem as shocked by the sight of a naked except for his mask Kakashi getting a seemingly fabulous blowjob (if his complete inattention was any indicator) by a fully clothed girl as he pushed his way into the room.

"Hatake." For a moment everything seemed to move in slow motion. As Kakashi looked over at them the girl drew her head up slowly, emerald green eyes fogged over and confused by the intruders. After her eyes focused on them they went wide and everything sped back up as she leapt back with a squeak.

"Saki!" All attention was focused on Genma at his shout. He turned fully to a now standing Copy-nin sporting a pair of black pants. (When did he have time to put those on?) "Bastard!"

Genma lunged at Kakashi with the intention to punch him though a wall. "She's only a gennin you sick fuck!" Kakashi caught his fist easily and threw him into the wall he had previously been facing.

The girl (Genma still wasn't convinced she was actually Sakura) squeaked again and cowered in the corner furthest from the combatants as Genma forced himself to attack Kakashi again, this time with a kunai.

* * *

'Well, this is awkward…' Kakashi couldn't contain the thought as he sat at the edge of his bed with Sakura kneeling before him trying her best to give him a blowjob… trying being the operative word.

The morning had started nicely he reflected briefly. Kakashi had woken to the wonderful smell of miso soup and white rice. A truly glorious breakfast, especially when a pretty girl cooked it for him.

When he had entered the kitchen Sakura had smiled at him and placed the steaming bowl of rice she was scooping next to one of the two steaming bowls of miso already on the counter before turning back to scoop a second bowl. They had eaten silently and then cleaned up and put away everything she had used. It had been… pleasant.

However, when they sat down for their last lesson before leaving Konoha Sakura had finally shown how inexperienced she really was. He supposed that he shouldn't be surprised, the other times he had been the one in control; and if he were honest he was probably more experienced than most people.

For the first few minutes he had tried to correct her, but he had only succeeded in making her angry. "Damn it Kakashi! I'm doing exactly what the kunoichi classes said to!" Kakashi had raised his eyebrow at her outburst and tried very hard not to sound as exasperated as he felt when he responded.

"Those are very valuable classes Sakura… but I guarantee you that _most_ men do not enjoy _any_ application of _teeth_." Sakura had gone scarlet at his flat tone, though he had been unable to tell if it was due to embarrassment or rage, and he had wisely decided to not say anything more as she used him as her guinea pig.

A guinea pig that at the present moment felt more abused than aroused. It was rather a relief when he heard the Anbu enter through the living room window and he was able to draw her attention enough to let her know that their mission was now truly underway. Sakura nodded slightly before continuing her ministrations as Kakashi faked a moan of pleasure to draw in their prey.

It was ironic that the door swung quietly open just when Sakura began to get the hang of things, but Kakashi reflected that that was the way of life and pretended to ignore his company until one of them called his name. He didn't recognize the neko masked Anbu who had called his name, but the inu masked 'Anbu' in front of him he would have recognized anywhere.

He wasn't surprised that Genma had been chosen as the plant, he was really the perfect choice. They knew each other's fighting styles well enough to make the fake fight look real, and he was capable of keeping his mouth shut when it mattered. Not that anyone who didn't know him well would believe him capable of either. 'Yep, definitely the perfect choice.'

When Sakura lifted her head from his lap and gazed lazily at their audience Kakashi was ready, and during the second their attention was focused on her he stood, pulling up his jounin pants in the time it took to blink. He was hardly surprised when Genma started off with a basic punch. It was the type of thing Naruto would have done, a purely emotional response.

It took almost no effort to throw him against the wall opposite the open doorway and when he charged again holding a kunai, Kakashi simply grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind his back, 'taking' the weapon. (Though it was really more of a fancy looking hand off.)

During all of this the Anbu still standing in the doorway did nothing, but Kakashi wasn't stupid enough to ignore him. The man was simply watching, waiting to see if this was really what Genma had said, or more of a personal dispute. He'd just have to convince him.

"She's _mine_. It doesn't concern you." Kakashi allowed Genma to wrench free of his grip and pull out a second kunai.

"She's a child!" Kakashi cocked his head to the side and Genma launched himself again, the two exchanging and blocking blows in a practiced combination that the eye could barely follow. This really might not have worked with another partner.

Kakashi spoke over the clash of metal on metal. "Really? I disagree, I don't think she's been a child since she came under my care." Genma roared and threw off Kakashi entirely to attack him properly, but just as his kunai was about to connect with Kakashi's side he felt the bite of cold steel across his throat.

Kakashi cut just deeply enough to cause blood to gush over the hardwood of his bedroom floor before throwing him in Sakura's direction and turning his attention to the Anbu who was finally poised to attack. The real Anbu wouldn't be as easy to take care of.

* * *

Sakura had been doing her best to look terrified of the events in front of her while watching them closely. When Kakashi threw the 'Anbu' in her direction she maneuvered herself to look like she was trying to avoid the 'corpse' while she actually caught the man in her lap. They had worked out earlier that he would throw the plant's 'corpse' to her so she could discreetly make sure that they didn't become a real corpse.

She glanced up long enough to see that her act was not being appreciated by either of the other men in the room (as they were both preoccupied with trying to land blows upon each other) before laying her chakra-laden hand upon the wound. It surprised her for a moment when she recognized Genma's chakra signature, but she pushed that aside and focused on closing his wound. Or rather, on closing it enough to ensure that it would not be fatal, she had to leave the wound open enough to at least look lethal at a glance.

She wasn't too worried about the preoccupied Anbu noticing that his 'comrade' was actually alive. He would be too busy to check before his 'escape,' and when he returned Tsunade would be the one to check the 'corpse' and pronounce him dead… Well that was the plan at least, but Sakura had no reason to believe it wouldn't work.

That is, she didn't have a reason to doubt the plan until Kakashi crashed into the wall directly next to her. Her eyes rounded at the sight of Kakashi visibly forcing himself to stand. She began to stand with the intent of healing him if need be, but his words cut her off.

"I'm fine Saki, stay back!" Sakura did her best impression of a stricken child, turning away from him with wide dewy eyes to stare at her 'lover's' attacker instead. She looked at him in what she hoped looked like fear, even using some chakra to force her eyes to produce enough tears to make her look like a weeping, frightened child.

She was gratified when the Anbu hesitated in his attack for just a fraction of a moment; it was enough. Kakashi was instantly before him, landing a punch with enough force behind it to throw him through the wall next to the open doorway and into the living room. Kakashi made to go after him, but she called out to him.

"Sensei!" With his attention diverted for a moment the Anbu wasted no time in making good his escape. It was exactly what she had hoped for, if not exactly what they had planned.

After a moment, when she was sure that he was gone, Sakura jumped up to attend Kakashi's wounds, only to be stopped by his hands grasping hers. "Saki," she looked up at him questioningly, "I know _Sakura__ Nee-san_ taught you some _basic_ healing, but we don't have the time right now."

Sakura blushed, it was going to be hard to pretend to have only basic healing abilities when every instinct she had demanded she heal the already bruising flesh of his chest, but she managed a small nod.

Kakashi managed a smile as he grabbed the rest of his clothes and dressed quickly while Sakura grabbed their prepared packs. In less than a minute they were running over rooftops towards the closest border.

As they jumped to the top of the wall surrounding the village Sakura paused for a moment to look back. The image of Konoha in the morning light was one she wanted to keep with her for when things became difficult. Because they _would_ become difficult and if she became tempted to give up she might need this image to remind her of what she was doing this for.

And then the moment was gone and she was speeding away right behind Kakashi, not allowing herself to hesitate or look back again. To look back a second time would be a weakness.

* * *

Tsunade wasn't surprised by the abrupt appearance of a slightly battered Anbu, though she did her best to appear to be surprised and disturbed by the news he brought. Allowing her jaw to clench and her eyes to burn she listened quietly before not so quietly summoning Shizune.

"Shizune!" The woman opened the door after only a moment. At first she looked annoyed, until of course she saw the neko masked Anbu.

"Yes Hokage-sama?" Her eyes looked stern and ready for whatever Tsunade had to say.

"Get an Anbu hunter squad together immediately; they'll need to be some of the best." Shizune nodded and made to leave the room before Tsunade called her back. "And Shizune?"

"Yes Hokage-sama?" Tsunade's eyes pierced into the woman, as if gauging her reaction.

"Let it be known that Hatake Kakashi has betrayed his village by attacking fellow shinobi, killing an Anbu operative, and kidnapping a minor." Shizune's eyes went wider with every charge but she said nothing. She nodded and walked out the door silently to complete her newly assigned duties.

Tsunade sighed as the door closed, sometimes she felt too old to be playing these games, but what else could she do?

"Tsunade-sama?" She looked up at the Anbu that was still standing before her. "I would like to request permission to join the team sent to retrieve Hatake and the girl."

"No." Tsunade didn't hesitate in her response and she focused her considerable stare upon him to make her point all the more clear. "You are not hunter class Anbu, you are assassin class. And despite this morning's events you still have a mission to complete. Consider yourself leader and choose your team, just tell Shizune who you take."

Tsunade took in his stiff posture and clenched fist. He was taking this personally, but that was all the more reason to keep him away from this particular missing-nin.

She had chosen this particular Anbu because he was the least tight lipped of the lot and they needed this story spread rapidly; but if there was one thing Kakashi didn't need right now it was an over-zealous Anbu who whole-heartedly believed he would be protecting the village by killing him. No, Kakashi had enough to deal with.

"Dismissed." The neko Anbu left in a cloud of smoke after a perfect bow. It was few long minutes later that three Anbu with plain white masks except for the carved leaf insignias appeared before her.

Kakashi and Sakura's troubles were about to begin in earnest.

* * *

Review? ^_^v


	5. Chapter 5: Questionable Beginnings

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or any of its characters, that right is reserved for Masashi Kishimoto.

Please Read and Review, because it fills me with LOVE! Also, feel free to leave criticism or suggestions, I can take it! ^_^v

* * *

Chapter 5: Questionable Beginnings

"Baa-chan!" The loud crash of Tsunade's door against the wall was one she had been expecting, but was no less unwanted. As she looked up from the piles of paperwork threatening to topple over at the sudden intrusion, Tsunade couldn't help the annoyed twitch of her eyebrow at his 'oh so affectionate' nickname. One of these days she would teach him to respect his elders…

"Naruto!" Even Naruto wasn't stupid enough to continue on the tirade he had come to deliver when Tsunade stood over her desk and looked at him as if the pits of hell resided in her eyes. He shut up, but he marched up to her desk and mimicked her own pose, standing over the desk with hands slammed onto the surface, nose to nose with his irate leader; Shizune unobtrusively stepping into the room behind him and closed the door.

"Kakashi-sensei would NEVER betray Konoha." His tone was firm, but quiet. The fact that he wasn't yelling up a storm was enough of a surprise in itself that Tsunade was forced to really look at him.

He had changed so much in the last four years; he was no longer the boy who had bet her that he could master the Rasengan in a week. He was now a man who had withstood the betrayal of his best friend and the death of his master. The fire of Konoha burned brightly in his eyes; eyes that were currently burning for answers, answers she couldn't give.

"Naruto…" Her voice was calm now, but no less stern. "Regardless of what any of us believed Kakashi capable of yesterday, today this is the truth." His eyes burned and she continued before he could stick his nose into things and botch the mission before it even had a real beginning.

"I don't have time to argue this with you Naruto, I have to go investigate this myself, and before you get any ideas, NO, you can't help."

"Baa-chan, Kakashi-sensei wouldn't do these things and I can prove…"

"Enough!" Her tone was enough to stop him mid sentence and his eyes bore into hers, a challenge that she knew she couldn't entirely back down from. She had been prepared for this and she really couldn't see another option right now; but damn it he was making everything so much more complicated!

"You already have a mission waiting for you." The shock of her words caused his to stand upright, no words immediately forthcoming.

Reaching into her top desk drawer, Tsunade pulled out a scroll she was hoping she wouldn't have to use; a mission she hadn't wanted to give him quite yet, but there didn't seem to be another option right now.

"Itachi's death was almost six months ago now, but not only has Sasuke not returned, but we haven't heard any reports about his recent activity…" She stared at him hard, willing him to understand how important this was, praying he wouldn't choose Kakashi over Sasuke.

"This is his last chance Naruto, if you can't bring him back this time I'm going to have to send the hunter-nin next." His posture was stiff and she could read the tension and pain in his eyes, he didn't want to make this choice.

"… I guess Sakura-chan and I…" Tsunade cut him off.

"Sakura is already on a long term mission." His jaw clenched along with his fist and when he opened his eyes they were red, but his voice was deadly calm.

"Fine… then who do I get?" Tsunade was glad that she would be killing two birds with one stone, but she really hated being the Hokage sometimes. Like now, when she had to spend a day lying to the people she cared about, and then had to send them out on dangerous missions so they wouldn't have the time to figure out she was lying… Which was why she had put Naruto in charge of this mission despite Shikamaru's obvious seniority, Shikamaru would have figured things out before she had even finished explaining the mission. Kami-sama, she wanted a drink.

"Shikamaru, Hinata, and Sai. Naruto, I'm letting you lead this mission because no one alive knows Sasuke better than you, but you damn well better listen to Shikamaru if you want to be successful." He growled and flexed his hands into fists, but she waited until he nodded to continue.

"Gather them now and head out as soon as you're ready." His nod was stiff and the door slammed closed behind him with as much force as it had opened when he stormed past Shizune to gather his team.

Tsunade sighed heavily. He was angry… but at least she could be sure he wouldn't be going after Kakashi anytime soon. That was something at least.

"Tsunade-sama, I don't think that choosing Naruto for this mission was a…" Tsunade's glared hard enough to make Shizune shut her mouth mid sentence.

"I don't want to hear your doubts about Naruto's abilities or qualifications Shizune, I don't want to hear a word about the Kyuubi not leaving Konoha; and so help me if you go behind my back to the council again I'm going to forget about our years together and show you just how angry I can get…" Shizune gulped and looked away from her in shame.

It was true, she should have learned by now that Naruto was a whole lot more dependable than he appeared; but it was hard to see past the idiotic, bungling face that he usually wore, especially when the only other side of him she usually saw was the barely controlled one that had just left the office. Nonetheless, she should at least know Tsunade-sama well enough by now to know that she didn't make such decisions lightly.

"Hai, sumimasen Hokage-sama." Shizune felt like a child, looking down at her feet in shame, but at the feeling of a hand on her shoulder she looked up to see the sad, half-smile on Tsunade's lips.

"Come on Shizune, we have work to do." Shizune gazed back in question as Tsunade walked past her and opened the door.

"Hokage-sama?" Tsunade answered without turning back.

"We have to give Hatake's case a full investigation. Come."

"Hai!" Shizune moved quickly to catch up and fall into step with the Hokage as they made their way outside. There were more things to worry about than her minor infraction.

Tsunade herself didn't even think about their minor altercation after it was over though. Already she hadn't imagined all of this taking as long as it had.

The meeting with the hunter-nins hadn't taken more than ten minutes, but she hadn't counted on Naruto barging into her office only a couple minutes after they had left… He must have been in the lounge downstairs when Shizune made the initial announcement… but it didn't matter, in the end she had known it would come to this, which is why she had prepared that scroll in the first place.

As she and Shizune jumped from rooftop to rooftop towards Kakashi's apartment, a nondescript Anbu fell in beside them. She knew he was the investigations-nin she had sent for; she also knew that she couldn't let him see the actual battle scene before she had had a chance to see it for herself.

When they slipped in through the living room window Tsunade made sure to assign the other two the more innocent living room and kitchen, taking the bedroom for herself.

It surprised her to find Genma looking like a corpse in a pool of his own cold blood, and for a moment she thought that Kakashi had inadvertently killed him, but when she got closer she realized that Sakura had engineered his appearance of death. He was actually just sleeping so deeply that his heart barely beat.

With a bite of her finger she summoned one of her slugs to take Genma back to his apartment. When she had the time later she would pull him out of the sleeping jutsu, but for now she had enough to deal with making this betrayal look real. They needed to create an uproar big enough to catch the attention of the organization Kakashi was trying to infiltrate after all.

Tsunade took her time looking around at the scene, making adjustments if she thought it might help: Scattering some clothes in their drawers, tipping a framed photo in the window sill over, and generally making it a look as if they had left in a hurry. Kakashi was really such a clean freak; it was making her job harder…

After almost fifteen minutes she decided that it would pass inspection and re-entered the living room. "Anything?" The two nin studiously searching through the large room turned to her and shook their heads.

"There are no signs that anyone other than Hatake has even been here… other than that hole in the wall behind you." After Shizune finished speaking the Anbu spoke as well.

"There are no signs that ANYONE has been here. It's as if Hatake Kakashi didn't even live here, it's just… too clean." Tsunade frowned, she knew Kakashi was always annoyingly clean, but she'd swear that he had even bleached the damn counters just to annoy her. Damn him.

"There's more in the bedroom, enough that you can tell he was in a hurry to leave, but it's not much. I've taken care of the body already, but I'd like the investigations department to look over the room more closely I want to know everything you get, even if it seems insignificant." The Anbu nodded once with a small bow and was gone in a puff of smoke to carry out her orders.

Shizune looked at Tsunade with a deep furrow marring her brow. "So Kakashi, THE Hatake Kakashi, has really betrayed Konoha…" Tsunade sighed, this had been one of the things she had been trying to avoid, direct confirmations… She really didn't want to completely destroy Kakashi's credibility. In fact, she hoped to cultivate JUST enough doubt so that when he returned and the truth was revealed people would be able to accept him back without question. If only they could be so fortunate.

"So long as that Anbu remains dead, yes… only time will tell what the repercussions from all this will be. For now I'm going to act on the worst assumptions and hope for the best." She knew Shizune would take this sentiment as her worry for Konoha, but her real worry was for Sakura and Kakashi. They weren't going to have it easy when they got back.

With a sigh Tsunade let go of her thoughts and signaled Shizune to follow as she left the immaculate apartment for her office with an unending pile of paperwork and a very large bottle of sake.

* * *

Sweat streaked through the dirt that had lightly caked Sakura's face. The last two days of travel had been hard and had taken more out of her than she had anticipated. Even with her healing abilities Sakura had still been in a small amount of pain from the loss of her virginity. She could ignore it for the most part but the constant travel was beginning to wear on her.

The first twenty-four hours had been grueling and non-stop (except for bathroom breaks) travel toward Grass country, not that Sakura complained. Over the years team seven and then team Kakashi had traveled like this many times, they had just never done it while being hunted by their own Anbu before…

When Kakashi had finally signaled a stop Sakura had quickly sat down and pulled out her canteen of water, relaxing as much as she could during the small respite. (You didn't pass up any opportunity to rest when traveling with the Copy Nin)

They hadn't been resting for more than a few minutes when they felt the approaching chakra of a high level shinobi. There was always the possibility that whoever it was _hadn__'__t _been one of the Anbu after them with instructions to kill Kakashi, but it was more practical to continue on without rest than to stay and find out.

Since then Kakashi had insisted that she take a soldier pill to keep going, but he had yet to take one himself. It had been twenty hours since then.

Sakura attempted to wipe the sweat streaming down her brow but succeeded only in smearing the dirt into mud across her face. She could tell that Kakashi was gradually slowing down and hoped for both their sakes that he was finally going to allow them to stop and get some sleep.

But he didn't stop. The minutes began to drag and in the end it was another hour before his hand finally raised to signal a stop.

Sakura landed on the branch next to him and instantly extended her senses to check for danger to be sure she hadn't missed anything, but there was nothing. Kakashi jumped to the ground and sat down with his back to the tree Sakura was still in and chewed a soldier pill before pulling out his well-worn copy of Icha-Icha Paradise. After a moment he looked up at her.

"You should sleep now Saki, we can't rest together until we know we're safely away." His words had the instant effect of putting Sakura into what she was beginning to think of as 'Saki' mode, looking down timidly and agreeing without question.

She leapt down and landed next to him gracefully before dropping her pack and pulling out the only bedroll they had packed. After a moment of thought, she looked up at him from her crouched position. "Sensei, may I…" A false blush colored her cheeks and she pointedly studied her hands.

Kakashi smiled and prompted her. "May you…?" She shook her head but after a moment looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

"May I use your lap as my pillow?"

The blush that covered her cheeks might almost have been real Kakashi thought as he lightly patted his leg in invitation. The smile his motion brought was undoubtedly real, and Kakashi didn't bother to hide his amusement at 'Saki's' antics. If nothing else, Sakura was getting used to her role.

It didn't bother him when she spread out the bedroll next to him and laid her head in his lap, (he hadn't really planned on moving anyway) but as she drifted off to sleep his eye was drawn to her sleeping face.

Because he knew this was Sakura he could see all the little discrepancies between the real thing and 'Saki;' but he didn't think anyone else would see the light web of perfectly healed scars across her pale hands, or notice that her green eyes held knowledge beyond even her true years, or that her perfect trust in him was more than a girl's belief in her lover.

She _knew_ that he could protect her. The bond of teammates went beyond a lover's when it came to trust… but no one else would see any of this, only him.

Kakashi sighed, it didn't bother him too much that his reputation was being trashed… well not enough to not take the mission at least, but he really wished that he could have come up with an excuse to put some of his things into storage before they left.

There hadn't been enough time to come up with an excuse that might not have tipped somebody off, but at least he had been able to bring both of his Icha-Icha novels; because he wasn't likely to ever see anything else that had been his again. Most likely it had already all been confiscated and either burned or set aside for further study.

His thoughts were disturbed when Sakura began to snore lightly and Kakashi couldn't help but to smile faintly. He had taken the soldier pill so that Sakura could sleep, knowing that it would be better for them both if he didn't sleep until they were a little further into Grass country. They had entered Grass territory almost ten hours ago, but one didn't take chances unnecessarily.

Grass was filled with more danger than Fire country for two missing nin from Konoha, but as least here there wasn't anyone specifically hunting them… unless of course the hunter nins had been able to track him across the border.

But Kakashi wasn't in every Bingo Book for nothing, and he was confident enough in his skills to allow Sakura to sleep now. He just wasn't cocky enough to sleep himself until he felt more secure about whether they were still being pursued or not.

As Sakura drifted into deeper sleep Kakashi tucked a straying strand of black hair behind her ear, wishing vaguely that it was pink… but the thought didn't bare dwelling on and he forced the thought away and began reading again. He remained alert to his surroundings even as he contained the giggle threatening to escape him as he re-read the last paragraph again.

He had every intention of allowing Sakura to sleep for at least ten hours, as the after effects of the soldier pill was unlikely to allow her to sleep any less than that anyway, but he saw no reason not to enjoy this respite to its fullest.

In the end it was fourteen hours later that Sakura awoke groggily to the incessant shaking of her shoulder and she threw a well-aimed punch at whoever was trying to wake her. Her eyes went wide with surprise when a strong hand caught her wrist before her fist could make impact… most people couldn't block her.

Blinking away the sleep from her eyes she finally realized exactly whom she had been trying to deck. "Sensei?" Kakashi smiled as he let go of her wrist, using his now free hand to tuck a wisp of hair behind her ear.

"It's time to go Saki." Sakura forced a smile and cuddled his hand to her face for a moment before standing and packing away their bedroll. When she finished Kakashi was already waiting for her, and with a simple nod of his head they were off again, running on the ground now as the trees thinned out into rolling hills of tall grass.

* * *

Ino cursed the fact that Sakura had gone off on an adventure and left her here for the tenth time that day. Not that she would have wanted to go with her or anything, but she _needed_ her. "Damn it!" She swore as she tripped over the pile of clothes littering her floor.

A faint, "troublesome" could be heard on the other side of her bedroom door before a light nock echoed into the space. Ino yanked the door open to see Chouji standing with his hand poised to nock again and behind him a lounging Shikamaru.

Face still in a scowl Ino held out her arms for inspection. "Well?" She was wearing a dark blue dress with long sleeves and a high collar with the skirt ending just above her knees. But for all that it didn't show anything it hugged her figure like a glove, the perfect balance between sexy and conservative. After a moment of their observation she looked pointedly at the supposed genius.

"You look fine Ino." She glared at Shikamaru's uncaring tone and stepped forward to let him know her displeasure when Chouji stopped her by lightly grabbing her shoulder.

"You look great Ino." When she looked at him he smiled. "I'm sure this is what you should wear for your date with Neji-san tonight." For a moment Ino was undecided on if she still wanted to wallop Shikamaru or not, but in the end she took a deep breath, allowing herself to let it go and smiled.

"Thanks Chouji!" She couldn't help but squeeze one of Chouji's large hands between both of hers before leveling Shikamaru with another glare and entering the bathroom to her right and applying her make-up. It wasn't too ostentatious, just some mascara to accentuate her large blue eyes and a shell colored lipstick that she favored.

By all rights it should be Sakura here, attempting to help her decide what to wear. Ino always took great pleasure in ignoring her opinion entirely, she always got a certain confidence in proving Sakura wrong… but she supposed that her team could do in a pinch.

When she stepped out of the bathroom to put on her matching dark blue close toed heels Ino glanced at the clock and almost fainted on the spot. "What the hell! Why didn't you guys tell me it was so late? I'm supposed to meet Neji-san at the restaurant in fifteen minutes!" The two teens turned to each other as if looking for the right response but said nothing.

"Arg! Forget it! Just get out so I can leave then!" She fairly shoved them out the front door before grabbing her purse and locking the door behind her and walking toward the restaurant.

Shikamaru watched her for a moment before shrugging and turning in the other direction, Chouji close behind; but just as Ino was about to turn the corner she stopped suddenly and turned back around. "Shika! Chouji!" The two men turned back to see Ino smile her brightest smile with a wave. "Wish me luck!" Even Shikamaru couldn't resist the small smile that tugged at his lips when she was so happy, and Chouji grinned outright and called back.

"Good luck Ino-chan!" Ino frowned for a moment over him using the chan suffix, but she couldn't hold down her smile and in a moment she was off again, heading towards what could be either the worst or best idea she had ever had.

Despite 'running late,' it only took Ino five minutes to get to Goemon's. It was a nice place, not expensive enough to require fancy clothing or special occasions, but it was a far cry from the ramen stand Naruto seemed to eat the majority of his meals at and she didn't stand out as overdressed.

At lunch time Ino might have been overdressed, but at this time of night there were enough people here on dates and more formal occasions that she looked well dressed without standing out as ostentatious.

She was glad that Neji had chosen their meeting place, she might have chosen somewhere nicer and then if it hadn't gone well she would have been out a prospective husband as well as a substantial amount of her savings fund. They had agreed to pay for themselves on this first (hopefully only the first of many) dates intended to allow them to get to know each other. This way there was nothing to worry about.

When Ino entered she looked around briefly before walking up to the hostess who smiled politely. "Excuse me, would you happen to know if Hyuuga Neji has arrived yet?" After glancing down at her reservations list the woman looked back up at her.

"He has not arrived yet, but he did make a reservation. If you would like, we can seat you now and escort the gentleman to you when he arrives." Ino sighed but forced herself to keep up a light smile despite her nerves.

"That would be fine, thank you." The hostess escorted her to a table near the back of the dining room next to a window. It was fairly obvious that the section was closed except for their table and Ino worried that perhaps Neji had gone to the trouble to pay extra so that their conversation could be kept between them. Not that she minded… it just seemed like too much effort for something that might not even work out.

Ino forced herself to stop worrying about it overly much and busied herself with looking over the menu until she caught sight of Neji in the corner of her eye being escorted towards her. She stood to greet him and then promptly forgot whether it was appropriate to shake his hand or just nod; but before she could decide he interrupted her worried thoughts.

"Please, sit Ino-san." She sat again with a slightly nervous smile and racked her brain to figure out what she was supposed to say.

For the longest time Ino had wanted her first everything to be with Uchiha Sasuke, but that dream had died for her when he betrayed the village. It didn't matter how handsome he was or whether he ever came back or not, she just couldn't love someone who would betray the village. And after realizing that the thing she had treasured as her ultimate goal was gone she had thrown herself into training, searching for new purpose, and medical training had given it to her.

Unlike Sakura, she wasn't training under the great Tsunade-sama, and Ino would never be referred to as a 'mini Tsunade,' but that didn't matter to her. Ino had wanted to learn medical jutsu so that she could never be useless in battle again, but she would never have the amount of Charka control Sakura did.

What mattered though wasn't her 'rivalry' with Sakura- that was really more of a game nowadays anyway, but that she was able to stand with her comrades on equal footing. Between the medical training and the more advanced mind control jutsu her father had spent months drilling into her head, Ino would never be called useless again, and that's all that really mattered.

But for all her hard work to become a shinobi all of Konoha could be proud of, Ino had never been on a real date before. She'd been asked out a time or two, but she had just been too busy with her team and training to accept. So needless to say, she was currently nervous as all hell.

"Um, did you reserve this whole section?" Ino winced internally, she hadn't meant for that to come out the way it had.

Neji nodded once and an awkward silence settled over them until the waiter came over to get their drink orders, neither of them getting anything other than water. After he left to grab their water and give them a moment to deicide their orders Neji cleared his throat.

"Maybe it would be best if we placed our orders before beginning our… discussion." Ino nodded and couldn't help giving him a relieved smile as she looked down at her menu.

It irked her that she was so nervous she could barely speak; this wasn't like her at all! She could just hear Sakura taunting her and she hated it. So after the waiter had returned with their drinks and taken their orders she took a deep breath, forcing herself to think clearly. After all, the worst thing that could happen was Neji saying that he _didn__'__t_ want to marry her… Her pride could probably survive that, but she would gain nothing by sitting here in this stupid matter. May as well jump in.

"I'm bossy." Neji looked up in surprise at her confession, but she if she stopped she'd lose her nerve, so she stubbornly continued. "I like getting my way and grumble when I'm forced to give in when I don't want to. I want at least three kids but I refuse to give up being a kunoichi. I could never be a timid doll of a wife, and I know next to nothing about the proper things to do in formal situations."

The air seemed to be too thick to breathe and Ino was afraid she might choke, but she _had_ to finish what she was saying.

"But I don't give up easily and I'm determined enough to get through the bad times and work towards the good, and… I won't commit myself to this unless I'm sure neither of us will change our minds down the road and regret it."

Ino felt better for getting that out, but she couldn't help the knot tightening in her stomach at the blankly frozen expression on Neji's face. For a full beat after she finished speaking he simply looked at her intently before his shoulders relaxed marginally and he allowed himself a small smirk that she couldn't read at all.

"I don't back down on something when I'm right. I won't cajole you or argue with you if I feel you're being irrational. I would be happy with two children but my family would prefer upwards of six. I don't do public displays of affection; and my family is more often formal than informal."

For a second Ino thought that he was done speaking and she didn't know what she was supposed to say. Had he just rejected her or set some ground rules? But before she could think on it too deeply he continued.

"However, I would have no aversion to helping you learn anything you wished. I would never ask you to give up being a kunoichi, and if I decide to commit myself to you I will not change my mind or regret the decision unless you do."

For long moments after he finished speaking Ino simply absorbed his words before she finally smiled in a relaxed sort of way. "I think that's the most I've ever heard you speak, let alone all at once." Neji shrugged off her teasing tone.

"It was important." And suddenly they could both breathe comfortably again.

* * *

Sakura would rather listen to Ino gloat for hours than stay still for another second, but she'd do it anyway because that's what a _good _pillow did. This thought might have been enough to stave off her ire if it were not for the fact that the man she was playing pillow for was Hatake Kakashi; specifically one Hatake Kakashi who drooled and groped her in his sleep.

Kakashi had finally been satisfied that they were far enough into Grass for him to sleep fifteen hours after he had woken her. (Though now she suspected that he had only stopped to keep himself from passing out.)

As soon as she had dropped her pack he had pulled out the bedroll. Then he had turned to her with his most charming smile and told her to "be a good pillow" before promptly falling asleep in her lap. It irked her, but she had suppressed the urge to hit him in favor of waiting until she was sure he was fully asleep to swipe his precious Icha-Icha.

Those first ten hours had been good; Sakura had been surprised to find Jiraiya's book contained more plot than sex, and was even more surprised to find herself suppressing her laughter. Most of the humor was dry and intelligent and Sakura smiled at the thought that Naruto had found the book boring. Really though, most of the humor was beyond him.

It never ceased to amaze her that for how much Naruto had matured when it came to battle and strategy, his social skills had hardly aged a day… but she supposed that that was part of his charm. Uzumaki Naruto, deadly idiot and future Hokage hopeful. It was enough to make her shake silently with suppressed laughter at his expense.

Sakura was entertained by both her thoughts and Kakashi's book, and was in a rather good mood despite her desire to move… at least until Kakashi began to drool a variable puddle into her lap.

At first she thought this was a sign that he would wake soon and had quickly returned his book to his kunai pouch, but even then he didn't wake up.

After an hour spent analyzing how he was physically _able_ to drool on her through his mask, she felt his hands grip the globes of her ass appreciatively. She had almost beaten him at that point, but had run her fingers through his hair instead by force of will, knowing that 'Saki' would _never_ beat Kakashi… even if he was a drooling, groping, pervert…

But three hours later she was still sitting there with his hands gently gripping her posterior like a child cuddling a teddy bear, and even thinking of the mission couldn't stop the angry eye twitch when he began to grip her harder.

"Kakashi!" Sakura shoved at his shoulder forcefully, deciding that he had had at least as much sleep as she had.

Unfortunately Kakashi seemed determined to keep sleeping and only seemed to pull her closer and variably nestle his face in her crotch. "Kakashi, wake up!" Kakashi's one exposed eye opened lazily and looked at her intently, giving Sakura the distinct impression that he had been awake for a while.

"What's wrong Saki-_chan_?" Sakura bit her inner cheek at his emphasis of _chan_ and smiled sweetly.

"My leg is cramping Kakashi-_sensei_." He smiled blithely at her, giving her ass one more firm squeeze before sitting up and scratching the back of his head.

"That's too bad; I was having such a wonderful dream…" Sakura held in her commentary and filed it away as something she would exact payback for when the mission was over. It was a list that was rapidly growing longer.

Stretching her legs out and rubbing the numbness out of her right leg Sakura groaned appreciatively at the return of blood to her limb. She was caught off guard however when Kakashi kneeled and began to do the same to her left leg. He smiled benignly at her, as if what he was doing was not completely out of character for him; but Sakura had no intention of complaining.

When she could suitably feel her limbs again she smiled her thanks and stood to gather their things, but before she could get more than a step away from him her stomach let out a loud growl. Kakashi snickered for a moment before his own stomach responded in kind and Sakura laughed as he gave his stomach a look of distain, she poked him in the chest.

"Okay Sensei, if you get a fire started I'll get some fish from the stream we passed about a mile back." Kakashi nodded without response. Sakura knew better than to think much of it, he wasn't really the chatty type. And despite the mission calling for the two of them to be constantly close, Kakashi was still Kakashi… unlike Sakura.

It wasn't until after they had both eaten and were on their way again that Sakura allowed herself to think about the fact that Kakashi had blatantly groped her for an undetermined amount of time. It had definitely been intentional.

Of course she realized that he was just trying to get her accommodated to the way things were going to be between them for months to come, but did he have to drool on her too? …Or did he really just drool that much in his sleep? She didn't remember him ever drooling in the past, but then again, she'd never served as his pillow either.

Sakura sighed, she knew that she could do this mission, but how was she ever going to make Kakashi as uncomfortable as she currently was? She really wanted to get back at him for some of these unnecessary things (like drool) but had no idea how to do anything to someone so... Nope, there were no words that could properly describe the being that was Hatake Kakashi.

Devilish didn't work because he was too good. Upright didn't work because he was too perverted. Talented was true but implied that he actually tried to be good at something other than fighting.

Sakura blushed as she realized that there _was_ something else that he put effort into being good at… but that really didn't bare thinking about while they were still on the move.

Shaking off the thought that she was rapidly becoming as perverted as Kakashi, Sakura forced herself to think about the mission. First she and Kakashi would establish themselves in a small town where they would pretend to be trying not to stick out as they waited to make contact.

After they established themselves in the community their actions would be determined by who caught them first; the group they were planning to infiltrate, or Anbu.

They would have to maintain their cover at all times… including nights filled with hot, steamy sex. 'Hmm… maybe this mission won't be that bad after all…' But even that thought faded into the back of her mind when the sight of a small town appeared on the horizon.

* * *

Review? ^_^v


	6. Chapter 6: 4 Days, 3 Weeks, & 3 Months

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or any of its characters, that right is reserved for Masashi Kishimoto.

Japanese vocabulary to know:

Okaasan- mother/ mom, a formal version would be different.

Otousan- father/ dad, a formal version would be different.

Kuso- think of it as the equivalent to the English swear word shit.

Kami-sama- god, and yes you do have to use the _sama_ because kami alone means hair.

Please Read and Review, because it fills me with LOVE! Also, feel free to leave criticism or suggestions, I can take it! ^_^v

* * *

Chapter 6: 4 Days, 3 ½ Weeks, and 3 Months

After getting over the initial discomfort of their first date Ino was immensely relieved. They had idly discussed their teams and things they enjoyed during dinner and, despite Neji's natural propensity for quiet and solitude, they had managed to avoid any more awkwardness.

Or at least they _had_ until they left the restaurant.

Suddenly Ino didn't know what she was supposed to do. Was it her job to ask him out for a second date since he had asked the first time? Was he supposed to walk her home? Was she supposed to kiss him goodnight? …Surely not.

But her thoughts stopped their pacing when Neji looked at her with his inscrutable white/grey eyes.

"Would you like to choose our next activity?" Neji's words struck her as both funny, and stiffer than anything else he had said all night; but she couldn't laugh because he was trying so hard to be a gentleman.

"Well…" A smile split her face and a fire burned in her eye Neji wasn't entirely certain he was comfortable with. "We could always spar with each other, fight till we drop. My mother's always said that you don't know someone until you've beaten them half to hell and back, though I think that's just because she enjoys beating on her old teammates so much…"

Ino stopped when she realized that not only was she rambling horribly, but Neji was looking at her as if she'd just proposed they have tea with Gai-sensei and Lee-san to discuss the beauty of youth. 'Shit, backtrack, backtrack!'

"Or we could just have dinner again, I know a nice place that—"

Before she could finish Neji interrupted her. "No, it's a good idea. Training ground eight tomorrow morning okay?" Ino couldn't have been more surprised by his words. As a jounin it was in Neji's nature to give out orders, not courteously entertain ideas (especially crazy ideas) concocted by chuunin medics.

Ino's smile was brilliant. "Would nine be good for you? I usually help my parents out in the mornings until then."

Neji's smile in return was small, but still not something she was used to seeing. It warmed her. "I'll be waiting then." And with an abrupt 'poof' he was gone.

Ino felt like laughing- that was probably the closest he had ever come to running away from someone, and of all people it had been Yamanaka Ino… It was endearing really.

The entire walk home she found herself thinking about how many new surprises this new 'relationship' was already providing, and when she opened the door she was feeling rather optimistic.

Until of course she saw her mother lying in wait for her, innocently sipping a cup of tea at the kitchen table. The smile on Ino's face crumpled only slightly too slowly to be missed by Yamanaka Shizo, who smiled like a cat sitting in a vat of cream.

"How was Neji-san doing, Ino? I haven't seen him the last few times I was visiting with his aunt, and I couldn't help wondering." For all that Ino loved her mother she really hated her sometimes.

When Ino said nothing and crossed her arms as she stared hard at her mother, Shizo set her cup down and tried very hard to look innocent as she inspected the pattern of her tea leaves.

"And I completely forgot, when is his birthday again?" Her eyes peaked up at her daughter with what anyone else would believe to be wide-eyed innocents. Unfortunately, Ino knew better.

Doing her best not to grind her teeth, Ino removed her shoes and poured herself a cup of tea from the still steaming pot on the stove. "July third."

Shizo's smile was beatific. "Ah, I always did hope you would have a summer wedding, all that sunshine will look wonderful in your hair."

Ino rolled her eyes but couldn't argue with her valid point; her hair _did_ look good in the sunlight… But after a moment she shook herself of reverie and sighed.

"I don't _know_ if we're going to get married yet Okaasan." Shizo smiled and held out her cup for more tea. Ino obligingly refilled the outstretched cup and studied her mother carefully. "… You and Otousan _did_ say this was an option for _us_, right?"

Shizo set down her cup and looked at Ino with a frown. "We did… not that it wouldn't be within our rights to _not_ make it an option." Ino's spine fairly snapped with how abruptly she straitened to protest. "BUT," Shizo cut her off "we _did_ decide you give you the option. We just like Neji-san _more_ than a lot of your other candidates."

Ino's eyes went wide. "Other candidates? Okaasan, I thought you said we were just having the omiai because Neji's aunt is such a good friend, you didn't say anything about _other __candidates_. How many _candidates_ are there?" Shizo looked away from her in what Ino would almost call embarrassment. "_Okaasan_?"

Managing to look at her daughter again Shizo forced strength into her voice. "We have enough candidates to ensure your future Ino." When Ino could find no words to express herself, Shizo continued. "You know very well that your father and I were unable to have a son, which means that unless your husband were to marry into our family the next head of the clan will be your uncle and then his son… We started asking around almost two years ago; there are no suitable bachelors who would abandon their family name, and a civilian would never be allowed to rule the clan."

Ino stared at her mother as if she had just turned purple. "You've just… _decided_ all this for me!" Shizo gave Ino a leveling stare.

"We decided that so long as you couldn't produce the clan's heir, you might as well bring it some prestige when you marry." Ino's face became red with a combination of rage and embarrassment that her marriage would be little more than a business deal; but her mother knew her well enough to head off the verbal attack that she was about to launch.

"Ino, if you don't want to marry Neji then don't. If you don't want to marry _any_ of the candidates, _don__'__t._ If you fall in love with a civilian that doesn't know the difference between a kunai and a kitchen knife- _that__'__s __fine __too._ But don't turn down Neji-san because you dislike our reasoning."

Ino felt like a balloon that had had its air let out before it could explode and she rubbed her temple in frustration. "So I don't _have_ to marry Neji?" Shizo nodded. "I don't _have_to marry any of the candidates?" Shizo nodded again. "So what's the point of all this?"

Shizo smiled at her serenely. "The _point__,_ I suppose, is that we would like for you to marry _well_. We won't _make_ you marry anyone, but if you don't want to marry Neji you _will _meet more candidates. If you don't want to marry any of them, fine." Ino stared at her incredulously. "… If it makes you feel better you can just consider it as us providing you with some options you might not otherwise have had."

For a moment Ino was sure that she was going to explode, but then she took a deep breath and forced a cocky smile. "You think there are men I couldn't have if I really wanted them?" She raised her eyebrow haughtily. "I'll have you know that _I_ was able to make _Hyuuga__ Neji_ smile today. _And_ I have a second date with him tomorrow. Compared to that a normal man would be a cake walk."

Shizo took in Ino's inflated ego before smiling sweetly. "And who was it that arranged your omiai with him?" Ino scowled and threw up her arms in exasperation and stomped out of the room, leaving her mother to smile victoriously. "You're still twenty years too young to think you can beat me Ino-chan."

* * *

Unlike Ino, Neji hadn't been upset when his aunt and uncle had explained the circumstances of the omiai when initially presenting Ino as a candidate; but then, Neji had always expected them to choose his marriage partner. The fact that he was being given a choice at all was more than he had hoped for. For all that Naruto had helped him to see that he didn't need to live his life as a caged bird, he would still find himself falling into his old train of thought far too easily.

He reflected that maybe that was part of the reason why he had asked Ino to dinner, she reminded him of Naruto in some ways. Not that he would EVER marry a female version of _Naruto_, but he admired her ability to choose a path and go after what she wanted without fear…

Then there was the fact that she had come to the omiai in a traditional kimono with white, hand painted birds flying over a village against a deep blue sky and an obi set in a pale yellow, golden brocade birds shining as they caught the light.

The imagery alone had drawn him in a way he couldn't explain with words.

More, if Neji knew one thing about dressing in traditional kimono, it was that it couldn't have taken her less than an hour to get into the stiff unforgiving garments required; and yet she had moved in it as if it were nothing more than a summer yukata.

She had been graceful in a way his cousins Hinata and Hanabi had needed years of training to obtain. It wasn't a quality you could find in just anyone, and even his uncle had later commented on it. Of all the people he would have thought capable of that kind of grace, he wouldn't have imagined it of Ino.

So he had asked her out to dinner- asked her to consider him as a real possibility.

Maybe it was her natural grace, or because her kimono had sparked something within him he couldn't quite explain, or maybe it was just because she had surprised him in a way he hadn't been since the idiotic Naruto had beaten him in a fair fight, but he didn't regret his decision.

As he reached the training grounds he was surprised to find her there already. She had said that she normally worked until nine but he had arrived early; and yet—here she was, staring into the deep woods surrounding the training grounds.

"Ino?" She seemed not to hear him so he took the opportunity to observe her unnoticed.

She was leaning against a large boulder with one leg holding her upright and the other propped against the stone, held up by her entwined fingers. Her eyes were a thousand miles away and for a moment he hesitated to interrupt her reverie, then he stepped forward and her eyes locked with his.

She didn't look surprised to see him; but her usual smile was slow to catch her lips, and even then it didn't reach her eyes. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't like it.

"Neji-kun, aren't you a little early? I don't think it's even eight-thirty yet." He shrugged.

"So are you." Her smile gained some warmth and she walked toward him. She walked with the grace of a dancer and the air of a shinobi. He didn't think she could possibly have any idea how she looked to him.

When she reached him she stretched her arms as she spoke. "No clan jutsu seem fair as the ground rules? I'd normally say taijutsu only, but I already know you'd win then." Her fire was back, glowing in her eyes like it had never left.

He couldn't repress the smile that came out more like a smirk. "Fair enough, ready?" She fell easily into a battle stance and nodded. "Okay then, no holding back." Neji took a moment to study her brightly burning gaze before falling into his own stance. "Go."

They launched into each other, holding nothing back and just enjoying the feeling of the world falling away as they put everything into their movements.

Neji didn't think he had ever felt so free.

* * *

Life as a civilian was boring, or at least it would have been if Kakashi didn't know Sakura was waiting for him like the perfect housewife.

They had taken over an abandoned farm about two miles from the nearest town consisting of a two bedroom cabin, an outhouse, a shed, a chicken coup, and a small vegetable garden. It was right off the main road, and more than a little run down, but after buying a dozen chickens, doing some repairs, and almost twenty buckets of soapy water it suited their needs just fine.

Spending a morning gardening and an afternoon hunting and fishing wasn't really his idea of a good time, but knowing that Sakura was stuck there being domestic made him laugh. She cooked the meals, cleaned the cabin, did the washing, dealt with the chickens, and kept his bed warm at night.

Life as a civilian was boring, but it did have its upsides.

It was bordering on evening when Kakashi came back with a line of fish in one arm and a boar waiting to be gutted in the other. Grass country was flat, hot, and had far too few trees, so stepping out of the blazing sun and into the sparse shade of the yard was always a relief.

The sound of splashing water caught his attention and after dropping off his burdens in the shed Kakashi went around the house to find Sakura doing the laundry.

She was wearing the white sundress he bought for her in town for her birthday the week before. He hadn't made a big deal of it so any watchers they might have (if there were any yet) wouldn't realize it was her birthday, but the smile on her face had been worth the walk into town.

Seventeen… it was weird to think of her as seventeen with the way she looked now, but he couldn't help reminiscing (to himself) about his own seventeenth year.

That was his second year in ANBU, possibly his hardest year… It wasn't something he really liked to remember, but he couldn't help thinking about the similarities between his past and Sakura's present, he only hoped that she didn't have to experience the same kind of fall-out he had after his first 'optional' mission…

Just then Sakura stood upright and stretched her hands above her head, popping joints sore from bending forward for so long. The sun hit her and she smiled at the warmth and looked down with a slight frown. The white sundress was transparent from her waist up from washing, and it was abundantly clear that she hadn't worn bindings today.

Kakashi's mouth went dry.

Under normal circumstances Kakashi might make fun of a woman in a similar situation, or even smooth talk her if he thought he stood a chance, but with Sakura it was different entirely. They were already lovers… sort of.

And it didn't really matter that her chest was currently only just barely more curved than the washboard she was using, many women could claim less and Kakashi found that he wasn't too picky. Breasts could be nice, but regardless, she was beautiful.

Sakura acted surprised when she suddenly felt him grip her hips and grind himself against her perfectly toned buttocks, but he could tell she had known he was watching.

"Se- sensei?" She questioned him meekly but he wasn't fooled, not when she was forcing her hips back against him rhythmically. But she had a part to play, so even as she begged him not to take her where anyone could see them from the main road, he knew her protests were as much of an act as the rest of it.

Not even bothering to remove his fingerless gloves, Kakashi ran his hands up under her dress and groaned. She wasn't wearing panties and her inner thighs were already wet with her anticipation.

_Had she planned this? How long had she been standing there washing clothes, thinking of what he was going to do to her?_

He didn't know, but he couldn't have stopped himself from having her if he'd had a reason to. Not when she so obviously wanted him to touch her.

He loosened his pants around his hips and thrust into her all at once.

It was too much for her, it felt so good Sakura couldn't help the beatific scream that escaped her as he thrust into her with far too much control for her liking. She gripped the rim of the basin in front of her and pushed herself into him, clenching her vaginal muscles as tightly as she could, chipping away at his control with every thrust.

"Oh, Sensei yes! … Kami-sama please, oh please, _please_! ..." The words were pulled from her throat without thought as she wantonly begged him for more.

His head dropped to her shoulder as he tried to remain focused, to torture her a little longer, but the feeling of her slick channel was too exquisite… and her hair smelled of flowers.

She was still using the same shampoo she had in Konoha; it was the scent that had filled his lungs the first time he had taken her, when she was still a curvy, rosette haired woman of equal standing who could break rocks as easily as she was now breaking his control.

All at once, he slammed into her with reckless abandon as she moaned helplessly in pleasure.

He was rough with her because that's what she begged him to do. She loved to get him wound so tightly that the smell of her hair would be enough to set him pounding into her womanhood like a man possessed; and in a way he supposed he was.

He was possessed by the smell of her, by the feel of her. He was haunted by the image of pink hair and emerald eyes, and he wanted to hate her for doing this to him without even trying, wanted to punish her for destroying one of the walls surrounding his heart with all the effort of a coy smile.

He was desperate with the need to taste her; but he refused to cross that line, refused to allow himself that indulgence. Instead, he sunk his teeth into her shoulder with enough force to bruise.

Lights exploded behind her eyes and her walls spasmed around him as she came in a wordless scream. He had to bite his cheek to keep pushing thru the exquisite feeling of her clenching his rock hard length; and the taste of blood burst across his tongue as she thrashed back against him, begging him with her body to come.

He bit the side of her neck through the fabric of his mask just for the pleasure of hearing her gasp and beg. "Oh please Kakashi-sensei, PLEASE!" He loved it when she begged.

With one hand still gripping her hip bruisingly, he reached his other hand around to her perfect, straining nipple and pinched. With a jolt her whole body became ridged, gripping him with the strength of a vise, and forcing him to explode in a final thrust.

For a second he felt paralyzed with pleasure, but as he sagged against her he managed to keep them upright by gripping the edges of the basin. Sweat dripping idly down his face as he attempted to catch his breath.

_How was she able to do this to him?_

After a couple of minutes he pulled himself out of her with a monumental effort and lay back in the grass without bothering to cover himself. He told himself that the view of her bare ass in the air was enough reason not to move; but after another minute when she lifted herself up enough to slump to the ground beside him he couldn't lie anymore.

He hadn't moved because he had known that she would come to him. She always came to him when it was over and they were both too weak with pleasure to fight the need for human contact. And poor idiot that he was, he could never gather the strength to do anything but pull her closer, to hold her like the lover he was only supposed to pretend to be.

* * *

Ino smiled at the man who would be her lover as he held her hand under the table; it was a concession he was making for her.

After their spar almost two months ago now they had talked for hours, taking their time to ask the hard questions… to listen to the hard answers.

"Do you still love Sasuke?" Ino had been expecting the question, and still she had felt her heart skip at hearing it.

"I don't know…" The words were almost a whisper, but she had forced strength into her voice as she continued. "I don't know if it was ever actually love, infatuation maybe? And then there was the whole competing with Sakura thing… She was always more serious about him than me, but I couldn't stand the thought of losing to her- and all us girls certainly _thought_ we were in love with him."

When she had turned back to him he was just watching her, waiting for her to finish answering his question. It made her smile as she turned back to the view of the village.

"No, I'm not in love with him anymore. I don't love anybody right now but…" It had taken more than a little will power to force her eyes back to his, to hold his gaze as she spoke. "I like you Neji-kun. I respect you and I think—I think that if you let me, I'll fall for you rather quickly."

For long seconds he had said nothing, studying her intently; and then he had taken her hand in his and entwined their fingers purposefully.

"You won't fall Ino." She had been concerned that he was telling her not to love him, but when he turned back to her his fathomless eyes had told her more than his almost clumsy words ever could.

Since then Ino had come to realize that he was often clumsy with his words. He could explain how to execute a jutsu with precision and ease that allowed even a novice to understand, but when forced to speak of his emotions he would speak only half his thoughts, and sometimes confuse her more than anything.

He had once told her she resembled a dancer, but had never explained his words. _Did __he __mean __she __looked __like __a __dancer __he __once __saw?__ That __she __dressed __like __a __dancer?_ She didn't know. But it hadn't mattered at the time, because his words had been followed closely by their first kiss.

That had been only a few days ago, and now they were having dinner with her parents while holding hands conspiratorially under the table… Well, not so conspiratorially since it was obvious, but Ino knew he didn't like displaying affection in public, even if it was just her _very_ approving parents.

She mused that someday she might work him into a tiny amount of hand-holding in public, but not today. And that was okay, because this morning he had told her he loved her, and even the stars falling out of the sky wouldn't wipe the smile off her face.

* * *

If anyone were to glance in Genma's direction they would see a lecherous, almost middle-aged man happily pawing at a rather giggly barmaid. It was unlikely they would notice that his eyes, looking up from the crook of the girl's neck, were not so beer-glazed as his behavior implied. While his hands were busy stroking their way down the girl's sides towards her derriere, his eyes and ears were entirely focused on his surroundings.

This was a mission Genma didn't know whether to be upset about being assigned or not, but he did know that it had been intended as punishment.

Apparently, Tsunade's loyal gossip listeners had been a little lax in their duties recently, and Tsunade-hime had decided that Genma was the right man for scouting out why. It wasn't so much because she believed they were deliberately hiding things from her, or that they were incapable ninja, she was just using this laps of minor information gathering to make Genma do one of his least favorite things. Overtime.

Basically he had been working double duty for the past three months, first spending the morning helping around the Hokage tower in any way Tsunade and Shizune saw fit, and then spending the evenings conveniently wherever the members of Tsunade's investigations squad happened to be.

Genma knew damn well that this was just an excuse to get back at him for mouthing off, but it really was getting old. If any of the investigations squad were disloyal or incompetent wouldn't he have noticed it by now? …But if Tsunade wanted him to continue doing this versus a REAL mission it wasn't really _that_ big of an issue, he would continue on diligently until she told him otherwise…

It also didn't hurt that the assignment allowed him to go out and pick up women every night of the week, but really this was about work… _really._

A small movement could be seen from the corner of his eye and he maneuvered the woman in his arms against the bar counter in order to watch his target in the mirrored paneling behind it. She moaned pleasantly as his hand traveled up her skirt, but his eyes remained on the brunet information specialist in the mirror behind him.

Takahi Chiro would normally never be caught dead in a place like this, his tastes generally brought him to the upscale bars and restaurants in the company of his well dressed wife or alone. So what was he doing in the sleaziest bar in Konoha with a redheaded bimbo?

If he was just breaking out from the rigid control of his wife Genma would have nothing to worry about past the possibility of Chiro's wife showing up and starting the next secret war… but it didn't look that way. Chiro wasn't feeling up the redhead, wasn't even looking at her really, he was looking into the shadowed corner that Genma couldn't quite see into.

The bar was crowded enough that no one noticed when Genma thrust two fingers into the willing woman pinned between him and the bar, and he subconsciously enjoyed her attempts to silence her mewling; but even as he kept the woman entertained his eyes were trained on the darkened corner for movement.

The blasting music coming from the other end of the bar was more than enough to keep him from hearing anything that was being said, but he could tell by the way his target's jaw tightened that it was serious. For a moment his view was blocked by passing bar patrons and when they were past he saw Chiro shaking the hand of a man Genma hadn't ever thought to see again, a man he had thought was dead.

Now Genma ducked his head into the woman's shoulder and earnestly sucked at the pulse of her throat as she begged him in whispered words to take her back to his place, in a real attempt to keep from being recognized. He ignored her pleading words to leave and loosened his clothing just enough to free himself. With one violent thrust he was inside her. She dug her fingernails into his back and sang encouragements as he thrust into her in hard, quick movements almost indistinguishable from the grinding bodies throughout the rest of the establishment.

Someone might realize what he was really doing, but so long as Kanbe Taka didn't recognize _who_ was doing it, Genma might actually live long enough to make his report to the Hokage.

After a few minutes he chanced glancing up again just in time to see Chiro shove his hand up the skirt of the redhead. She turned her face in his direction as she moaned in ecstasy. He wouldn't have put her above fifteen despite the barely there clothing and bawdy make-up, but she had the most extraordinary eyes...

Genma's attention snapped back on the woman he was giving pleasure to as her walls viciously clutched his length. For all that he wanted to do something, Tsunade _had_ told him not to let himself be noticed by his targets, and whether she had actually believed this to be a real mission or not didn't matter anymore.

He began to thrust harder as she begged him to, ignoring her request for a more private venue until he noticed Chiro finally leave the bar with the redhead in tow. Only then was he free to transport them out of the bar and into the alleyway.

She wanted to be alone with him, but didn't want him to stop long enough to get back to his apartment, so he held her against the brick wall and granted her every desire; after all, she had been extremely helpful tonight.

Tsunade would get her report in less than an hour, and as it was there was nothing that could be done immediately if they didn't want to ruin Kakashi and Sakura's cover… but the woman in his arms could be rewarded now, and Genma had always specialized in rewards.

* * *

"Tell me again why we're doing this?" Her words were whispered directly against his ear, so faintly he had to strain to hear. The words made him smile.

"Because they're watching." His response was only slightly louder as he was facing away from her, but he had no doubt that she had been the only one to hear.

He cringed as her fingers dug into the sensitive muscles of his back. "Are you sure that's all this is?" The words were cutting despite their whispered volume, punctuated by her fingers digging ruthlessly into the muscles along his ribs. He was unable to hold back a small gasp of pain.

"I think that's enough Saki, I'm feeling much better now." He said this in a louder voice and Sakura smiled in the same way a mother smiled at a child who didn't want their wound cleaned because it hurt more than leaving it, before leaning over his shoulder and teasingly kissing his cheek.

"I'm almost done Sensei, just one more minute and you'll feel _much_ better!"

"Hn." Kakashi hated that there was only so much he could protest at times like this.

After the first couple weeks living as 'Saki,' Sakura had figured out that if it _looked_, and _sounded_ like she was a sweet, innocent, trusting student, Kakashi had to play along or risk blowing their cover. So in the end, Sakura got her way more often than she had in Konoha… not that _she_ saw it that way of course.

In Sakura's eyes everything she did was nothing more than an act they were only occasionally aware of having an audience for. She kept it up constantly because when they didn't _know_ they were being watched it was all the more likely that it was a higher-level shinobi playing watch dog.

He didn't feel bad for her though, she had known what she would be getting herself into; but he also didn't discount how hard it was to play a person so contrary to her nature. What pleased him however was that she never protested his touch, even encouraging him to touch her more.

'Saki' might have been too shy to actually ask him to 'make-love' to her, but Sakura could easily tease him into fucking her. It was like a game between them; one he would only grudgingly admit he was losing.

It was the smell of her hair, her breathy moans when he touched her, and the fact that she was quite possibly the strongest woman he had ever known that made Sakura the main subject of his thoughts these days. Even despite the mission.

Kakashi gasped as her fingers suddenly dug painfully into a knot in his neck he hadn't even known he had, and then with the faint sound of a 'pop,' the pain was gone. He rolled his neck and shoulders appreciatively as Sakura stepped back.

"Better?" He could hear the smile in her voice; she was always like that when she managed to get him in the hospital. Both cocky of her skills and pleased that she could take at least some of his pain away. It made him smile.

"Much, thanks Sakura." Suddenly she was quiet, much too quiet.

Kakashi turned to see Sakura staring at him with wide eyes. "Saki? What's wrong?" He stood and reached for her but she stepped back, she was shaking but he didn't know why. And then her eyes filled with tears.

"You… you called me Sakura."

"Kuso." Kakashi ran his fingers through his hair and cursed himself silently. How could he _do_ that! This entire mission was riding on them keeping their cover intact and here he was destroying it with one careless word. What the hell was he thinking!

"Listen Saki," he reached for her again, and again she stepped back, this time shaking her head and letting a couple tears fall.

"No!" He froze. They both looked surprised that she had shouted and then she took off like a shot, running into the house and slamming the door. Kakashi was only one step behind her but she managed to lock the door before he could open it.

Kakashi cursed aloud and kicked the door, pounding on it with his fist. "Damn it Saki, it was just a mistake, come back here and talk to me!" There was no response so he continued his assault, taking out his self-hatred on the door to their temporary home.

"Don't make me break the door down Saki, you know I can do it, don't play this game with me, you know you'll lose!" When there was still no response Kakashi stepped back and decided to change tactics.

In a voice that was deadly calm but still loud enough to hear through the thick door he said, "I'm giving you to the count of three Saki, and if you aren't out here I'm going to have to punish you." Silence.

"One…" Silence.

"Two…" He thought he heard a faint noise, but she was still locked inside.

"Three!" The door remained closed and Kakashi closed his eyes and took a deep breath before breaking down the door with one chakra laden kick. There was a scream and the sound of scuffling as Sakura tried to run out the door. He allowed her to get three steps outside before grabbing her by her hair and pulling.

She screamed as her forward momentum was abruptly halted and she was thrown to the ground like an ill-favored toy. He rolled her onto her stomach and twined his fingers into her hair once more and yanked up. Prone as she was, she stopped fighting and just continued crying.

"I told you it was a mistake didn't I? Didn't I Saki?" He shook her when she didn't respond.

"Yes Sensei." Sakura's reply was weak and barely understandable through her tears.

"But you wouldn't listen, would you? Look what you made me do Saki! Just look!" She cried harder as he shook her, and then he let her go.

After a moment his hands began to gently stroke down her hair and back, caressing her as if to comfort an irrational child. "Shhh, Saki. It's okay now. I'm not mad anymore. I'm sorry." His words were quiet and apologetic.

Sakura wanted to kick his face in for almost destroying everything they had worked for.

Instead she did what was required of her to save the mission, she stayed in character.

"I'm sorry Saki. I'm sorry, but you shouldn't have done that. You know that I'm still going to have to punish you right?"

She shook in his gentle hands, looking over her shoulder at him with big watery eyes, begging him. "Please Sensei, I won't do it again." Hot tears continued to flow as she pleaded. "I promise I'll be good Sensei, so please…"

He pet her hair tenderly even as he shook his head. Her eyes widened as he leaned forward and whispered quietly in her ear. "I'm sorry Sakura, please… don't fight me."

As Kakashi proceeded to strip her of her clothing Sakura couldn't stop the tears. She didn't know she could feel like this.

Almost from the moment he had called her real name she had known that something like this would have to happen for them to maintain their cover. Neither of them had a choice, but this was completely different than all those times before.

He thrust inside her without taking even a moment to prepare her, and as the pain washed over her she wanted to hate him. For the first time in all of this she had no control and she wanted to claw his eyes out and curse his name, he was not gentle, he didn't pretend to care, he was _hurting _her, raping her…

And he would never forgive himself.

It was his fault and she couldn't even bring herself to hate him.

He was quick, having taken no time to give her pleasure or to lengthen his own; and after he finished he stood above her, a shadow against the darkening sky. "You're not allowed to regulate your cycles anymore Saki. I wont let you leave me, and once your pregnant you wont be able to, will you?"

Kakashi stood there long enough to see her vaguely nod before walking away, leaving Sakura to lay there like a broken doll. It wasn't until she finally felt the presence of their watcher drift away that she could find the strength to stand. She knew there could be another that stayed behind, but right now nothing could stop her from walking to the cold stream a short distance from the house and washing herself. She scrubbed her skin with a piece of her torn dress until it was raw, unable to cry anymore tears that even she didn't know the validity of.

Then she walked back the house like a zombie.

Everything had been put back in its place, a facsimile of the way it was supposed to be.

She found Kakashi lying face down on the bed with his face buried into a pillow. She wordlessly went to the wardrobe and pulled out a nightgown and put it on before going to him and sitting on the edge of the bed.

When he looked up at her she saw a tear tail down from his one black eye and disappear into his mask, it broke something in her. She began to cry, earnest, real tears, and he pulled her down into his arms. She found herself simultaneously beating against his chest and clinging to him desperately as he apologized over and over into her hair.

She wanted so desperately to hate him, but she didn't think it was possible. He had jeopardized the mission and hurt her in a way she hadn't thought him capable of; but he had hurt himself with his carelessness as much as he had hurt her. And for that, she could forgive him just about anything.

* * *

The only real change in this chapter was in the last bit between Ino and Neji, otherwise just some re-wording.

Review? ^_^v


	7. Chapter 7: Contact

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or any of its characters, that right is reserved for Masashi Kishimoto.

Okay, I suck. Not only is this chapter **2 years** late, but I redid the first 6 chapters to better suit my vision... again. But hey, at least I'm not abandoning my fics right? Anyway, PLEASE go back and reread the first 6 chapters, if you remember them at all since the last time I updated you'll notice some real changes. Otherwise, I'm sure everyone needs a refresher course before continuing.

Please Read and Review, because it fills me with LOVE! Also, feel free to leave criticism or suggestions, I can take it! ^_^v

* * *

Chapter 7: Contact

Orphaned during the war in the borderland between Rain and Fire, Kanbe Taka had survived by selling his body to the richest, sleaziest, old men he could find.

Most hadn't seen fit to pay him, but they had housed, clothed, and fed him which was more than most children his age could say; and for a long time that had been enough.

By thirteen however, it had become apparent that he would never be anything other than average looking. Moreover, he looked old for his age and soon even the cheapest of the dirty bastards wouldn't touch him.

For six months he had wandered through woods and war wasted fields, half starved and beyond desperate.

It was then that he had killed for the first time.

If he were the type of man to ever dwell on those dark days, he would still have been able to feel the slick warmth of the blood dripping from his fingers… but he wasn't.

The only time Taka ever thought about those days was when he remembered the end of them. It was the only part that mattered.

The man had been a shinobi, gravely injured, already more than half dead.

He hadn't heard Taka creep up on him, might not have even felt the knife slide across his throat.

Taka had wasted no time in stripping the man of anything he could conceivably use before leaving the body and getting the hell out of there.

He hadn't known he was being followed until they caught up to him the next day.

They were a group of missing-nin from Ame.

Days ago they had let the man Taka killed live, with the intention of following him back to his comrades. Taka had gotten in the way.

But despite the miserable existence that was his life, he hadn't wanted to die. His every instinct screamed at him to _survive!_

Never trained, or even exposed to ninja in any real way before, he had brandished the dead nin's weapons with more proficiency than the average civilian. His swinging fist clutching the kunai was wild, his attempt to throw senbon clumsy at best, but even knowing they were only playing with him, he never stopped. Never gave in.

Like a house cat attempting to fight off a pack of circling wolves Taka had eyed them with his hackles raised, waiting for an opening even as he lunged and jumped away from their almost playful attempts to kill him.

Eventually they had cornered him between themselves and a small cliff face with shear walls.

When one of the nins decided to finally end the game though, he had gotten a kunai through his hand for the trouble.

Everything had gone quiet for a moment, neither side believing that an untrained civilian could land a hit; and then laughter had cut the silence like a knife.

Instead of killing him, Gin-the leader, had decided to train him. He found Taka amusing.

In return, Taka had done absolutely anything the man asked of him.

When he asked Taka to kill a man, he did it. When he asked Taka to skin a man alive and eat his heart, he did it. When he asked Taka to kidnap a young girl and fuck her in the middle of a clearing for the encampment to watch, he did it.

No questions, no complaints.

It hadn't been easy to strip himself of humanity, to fulfill Gin's requests; but he knew that he would die if he didn't.

Even if Gin didn't just kill him out of hand (as he had with some of the men who had stopped following orders), Taka had been on the verge of starvation before they found him. He knew he would die if they left him.

So he followed orders.

He trained until his fingers bled.

He fucked, ate, tortured, killed and slept at the least whim of Gin; and eventually, he grew to like it.

For years it was like that. They traveled from country to country, sometimes raiding and killing, sometimes playing mercenary, and sometimes tracking down other nin- just for the pleasure of a challenging kill.

When Gin died, Taka left the others without a word or backward glance.

None of them had mattered in the first place.

Alone, time past slowly. Each day bled into another, with little to differentiate one from the next.

Occasionally he worked with Orochimaru (because you didn't antagonize a snake). He lived through his encounters with the Sannin simply because he, and his connections, were more useful alive and unmolested.

He wouldn't have cared though, Orochimaru could have cut him to pieces and it wouldn't have mattered, because it was there, in one of Orochimaru's maze-like hideouts, that he met Mejiro.

Long, blood red hair and eyes such a pale grey they were almost white, with the face of an angel- _that_ was Mejiro.

Orochimaru's assistant Kabuto had called her a failed experiment, had said that they would likely kill her eventually. But from the moment Taka saw her, he knew that he couldn't let them.

He didn't beg, because they wouldn't have cared, but he did propose a deal: In exchange for Mejiro, he would do their bidding indefinitely, without payment.

She had smiled at him with a look of perfect innocents when they left that place, and he had been lost.

She was thirteen and ungodly beautiful, so talented with her mouth it must have been a sin.

He hadn't asked anything of her but she had come to him, seduced him, _ensnared_ him.

Her touch was gentle, her passion real, and she had begged him to take her harder, _harder._

Had _begged_ him to come inside her, to make her _his._

And by morning he would have given her anything, would have _done_ anything, just to make her smile.

He wasn't blind to the fact that he had become as enslaved by her as he had been by Gin, but he didn't care.

Willingly he had taught her everything she wanted to learn, killed anyone she didn't wish to kill herself, done everything she had ever asked of him.

Stood by and did nothing as she allowed other men to touch her…

His fists clenched at the thought of another man touching her, tasting her, but there was nothing he could do.

It didn't matter that six years ago he had bought her from Orochimaru; _she_ was the one who owned him.

And like any good pet, there was little he could do but obey.

He had left the Konoha bar early because Mejiro had said she needed Takahi Chiro alone before she could be sure he wouldn't turn on them; but really, she had just needed him to leave.

Because he would have killed the man if he had stayed and then they would have lost one of their best spies.

A shrill cry of a bird drew his attention back to the present as he moved through one of Fire's dense forests.

Mejiro had personally gone to Konoha to confirm the rumors of _The_ Hatake Kakashi's desertion because he would be the perfect feather in her cap of misfits. She had been more than pleased to hear that not only was it true, but he had even taken a thirteen-year-old girl with him.

He was exactly the type of man she was looking for to join them, and it was now Taka's job to secure him.

* * *

Tsunade was willing to admit to herself that she hadn't actually expected one of her own to be a traitor; slip-ups, however rare, did happen. So when Genma came to her door around three in the morning with the information about Takahi, she had been surprised.

More than surprised- she felt like a fool, she should have expected it. Not because Konoha shinobi had a propensity for betrayal; but because any group organizing itself so quickly would try to get a spy or two in every village, and she hadn't even gotten a report of anyone being approached.

They were lucky. If Tsunade had assigned someone else to the job she had viewed as 'pointless,' they might not have had the skill to remain unobserved, and almost certainly wouldn't have recognized Kanbe Taka for whom and what he really was. Because it had been Genma, they could use this to their advantage.

Tsunade was reading through Genma's full mission report when the knock came at her door. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't have asked for it before the mission was completed, but with things the way they were she felt the need to have every detail possible in front of her.

"Enter."

Yamanaka Ino walked through the door held open by Hyuuga Neji. Tsunade watched them closely, noting how they stood just a little closer together than was required. They were dressed for travel and waiting for their mission; she wondered vaguely if they'd be disappointed.

"Before I give you your assignment, let's make something clear. Are the two of you intending to marry?" Ino made a strangled sound of surprise and Neji's eyes narrowed perceptibly; Tsunade loved surprising people…

After a quick glance at Ino, Neji looked back to the Hokage warily. "That has not been decided." If Neji missed Ino's shell-shocked expression at his words, Tsunade did not.

"Yamanaka?" Ino looked to her Hokage and then to Neji and back again, she didn't know what to say. She had never spoken the words, but she had known from their second date (if you could call beating the crap out of each other all morning a date) that she would agree to marry him.

Not because he had confessed passionately to her, or seduced her, or even rationally explained why she should; but because he took her seriously.

Where most people would have laughed at her sparring suggestion, he had listened and agreed. Where most men would have held back their punches to win her favor, he had held back nothing and won her respect. And when she had finally gathered her courage to ask him if he had known the real circumstances of their omiai, he had been honest. Honest in a way she wasn't used to.

And now, before any of this had been seriously discussed, Tsunade was asking her for the answer to the very question she had been waiting for him to ask. The one he _hadn__'__t_ asked.

"I…" She looked to Neji for help only to find him watching intently, it was too much for her to handle. "I don't know how to answer that question."

"Traditionally with a yes or a no, but since you seem to be having trouble let me make it easy. Hyuuga-san," Ino couldn't speak- only stare at Neji's profile as he obediently faced the Hokage. "Do you _intend_ to marry her?"

The breath stopped in Ino's lungs as she waited for his answer, and he looked at her almost furtively. "…Yes, Hokage-sama, I do." And suddenly Ino could breathe again.

They were staring at each other now, grins breaking out across both their faces.

And it didn't matter that he hadn't asked her directly or that his grin looked more like a smirk, she was just impossibly happy.

"Alright then, I'm going to cut to the chase." Her words broke their moment and got their attention back where it belonged.

"I want the two of you to officially announce your engagement by the end of the week."

"Hokage-sama, what does-" Ino was cut off as Tsunade threw each of them a mission scroll.

"You must appear to be doing nothing more than integrating Yamanaka Ino into your clan and its notable society. You will attend the events listed in your mission profile; and I don't care what reasons you give you families for making the announcement early, but I don't want _anyone_to suspect that this is a mission." Tsunade stared at them for a few seconds as if gauging their responses. "If anyone asks, I have granted you leave from non-essential missions until after the wedding."

The silence after her speech was deafening, the tension only lifting slightly when Neji cleared his throat. "Hokage-sama, if I may?" She nodded absently. "What _is_ our mission?" Tsunade's face became grim and he almost regretted asking as she fairly glared at them.

"Your mission, Hyuuga-san, is to follow the movements of a traitor."

* * *

Before that day, Sakura had sometimes been able to forget that they were doing this for the village, that there was anything worse than dirty laundry to contend with; but it was different now. She could never again forget that when Kakashi touched her, it was for the mission.

It sacred her to think _how _close she had allowed him- to think of how little she had needed to act; but that wasn't true anymore.

When he caressed her cheek with a tenderness she hadn't experienced before, it was for the mission. When he forced her body into a powerful climax, it was for the mission. And when she called his name loud enough for even their watchers to hear- well, that was because she was incapable of _not_ calling out when he buried himself inside her… The point however was that she had, suddenly, remembered that this wasn't just a game.

Despite the fact that the last three months had felt like little more than that, waking up in Kakashi's arms the next morning had been uncomfortable. She couldn't bring herself to hate him, but she also didn't want to be touched by him anymore.

It was a problem.

Everything inside her was a jumbled mess.

But when he asked her quietly if she was okay Sakura buried her own thoughts, buried her own emotions; and immersed herself in Saki's. Her only refuge from this would be wrapped like a delicate glass figure within the persona she had created. This was a mission.

Just a mission.

"Yes Sensei…" Sakura turned over on the bed to face him, caressing his face gently.

Kakashi stiffened at her touch, but he made no move to escape it either.

"I'm sorry Sensei, I won't do it again so… please don't be mad at me."

The sincerity in her voice burned him. He stared at the ceiling from his prone position on the bed as if it were about to collapse at any moment. In a way, he supposed, it could.

For the last three months they had become comfortable with each other, with the little invasions of space that were normal in a romantic relationship, but he had shattered that last night.

What would they do now? How could they even _recover_ from this mission once it was over?

Sakura had cried in his arms for almost half an hour last night before finally falling into fitful dreams. Dreams that, he feared, starred him as the major villain.

And now that it was morning and the sunlight was streaming through the windows of the bedroom Sakura had retreated from him as completely as their mission could allow, but was it a bad thing? Now he wouldn't have to worry so much about her being unable to detach herself from this lie they had created when they returned… but he didn't like it.

"No Saki, I'm not mad." Sitting up he stroked her hair gently. "I'm sorry too, but things will be okay now. Once you're pregnant everything will be fine, you wanted to start a family soon anyway didn't you?"

She stared at him for a long moment before a strained smile made its way to her lips. "Yes Sensei, of course I did. Thank you for thinking of it."

The words were hollow, but they were the right ones. Unlike him, Sakura wouldn't almost ruin the mission with a careless word.

He looked at her carefully, looking for any hint that she really was still Sakura, that there might be a way to make this up to her someday; but the thought was broken by a knock at the door. A knock from a person neither of them had detected before that moment.

For a second Kakashi couldn't move, and then he was up dressed and heading for the door with Sakura two steps behind him as she wrapped herself in a yukata.

One hand holding a kunai, Kakashi opened the door.

Kanbe Taka would never be described as an exceedingly handsome man, but neither would he be described as exceedingly ugly. In fact, most people who saw him wouldn't be able to give a description beyond the facts that he was a five-foot seven, brown haired, brown eyed male, between the ages of twenty-five and forty…

It was a description that would do little to help his enemies track him, and even less to identify him as an S-class criminal who had occasionally worked with Orochimaru before his demise. But it didn't stop Kakashi from recognizing him immediately; after all, it wasn't every day he ran into a dead man.

Break

Taka stood patiently outside the cottage listening to the conversation between Hatake and the girl. She was weak.

Mejiro had never been weak.

It wasn't the girl Mejiro cared about though, so it didn't matter.

When it sounded like they had finished he knocked lightly on the door. If he were the type to do such things, he would have laughed at the expression on the Copy-nin's face.

Taka didn't laugh.

"Hatake-san, it has been a while has it not?"

Kakashi's eyes were wider than usual as the breath whooshed out of him upon opening the door, but he wasn't so surprised that he couldn't speak. "Ah, yes, though not so long as I thought it would be Kanbe-san."

His usual eye-crinkle smile was a mask all its own that didn't fool Taka in the least; he had seen it before.

"Ah, yes, you thought I was dead didn't you?" Taka's mimicry of Kakashi was not lost on him, it was the type of thing Sai might have done. Something people too broken to ever truly understand normal social behaviors did, as if attempting to understand why people said things in the first place.

"I killed you myself."

"A misconception."

"Ah."

"Sensei?" Their staring contest ended as Sakura came up beside Kakashi and touched his arm. "Is it someone from Konoha Sensei?" The worry in her voice was genuine, not for the reasons Taka would assume- but because she had rarely seen Kakashi so tense when he wasn't fighting.

"It's okay Saki, it's not someone from Konoha." Sakura smiled timidly.

"But it's someone you know, a friend? Shouldn't you invite him in Sensei?" Kakashi eyed Sakura before turning back to Taka.

"Well Kanbe-san? Are you a friend, or are you here to _attempt_ to kill me again?"

Taka smiled, a smile so fake it would have made Sai proud. "I would call myself a past associate and future business partner." Kakashi's grip on the door tightened, but before he could respond Sakura leaned over his arm and smiled brightly.

"Kanbe-san, would you like to join us for a cup of tea?" Both men stared at her in bewilderment for a moment before Kanbe smiled again.

"Why yes Saki-chan, I would like that very much." Sakura's expression became bewildered.

"How did you know my name Kanbe-san? Have you been to Konoha before?"

"Ah, yes. I was actually just visiting there recently on a business matter. In fact, it's why I'm here. I thought Hatake-san might enjoy being a part of my little venture."

Sakura's eyes went wide. "Oh wow, Sensei, your friends are really nice!" She turned to him and beamed.

"Yes Saki, but weren't you going to make us some tea?" Her expression dropped into one of horror.

"Oh! Yes, right away Sensei!" And with that she ran back into the cottage, leaving the two men behind.

Kakashi eyed Kanbe critically before sighing and stepping back enough to allow him entry. "Well, if you're not here to try and kill me again you might as well come in."

Kanbe stepped inside but paused before passing him. "Aren't you being a little too trusting Hatake-san?"

Kakashi grinned. "No, I'm just not worried. I may have failed to kill you before, but if you prove to be a threat again I won't stop until you are nothing more than an assortment of body parts."

"Ah… I am glad to see that 'love' hasn't neutered that ferocity of yours."

Kanbe stepped fully into the small space then obliquely observed the hovel the Copy-nin had consigned himself to.

He was standing in a moderately sized room with a table big enough for four people in the center, a kitchen in the far left-hand corner and a bookshelf with only four books to the right as well as two doors. The closer one was open enough for him to see it was a bathroom, leaving the other as the bedroom.

Overall it was small and uncomfortable, but it _was_ clean.

Taka sat at the table, lounging as if he owned the place- because he knew Hatake wouldn't like it. But Kakashi said nothing, simply taking the seat across from him and lounging himself. He had no intention to make this easy.

* * *

Sakura listened to the men as she went about making tea, trying to appear too wrapped up in what she was doing to know what they were talking about. She even hummed a light-hearted tune as she brought the tea and three cups to the table and set it before the men who were fairly burning holes in each others' heads with their eyes.

Tense minutes passed with no one speaking as the men sized each other up over their teacups. Really, Sakura would have laughed if she weren't playing the role of a timid thirteen-year-old girl.

As it was, she found herself almost playing peacemaker between the two.

"Kanbe-san, is your tea alright? Sensei has been teaching me, but I'm afraid I'm not very good yet…" Kanbe smiled and obligingly took a sip of his tea.

"It's very good Saki-chan, forgive me, I was merely thinking about business matters; nothing important." His words brought out another beaming smile before Kakashi drew both of their attention back to himself by clearing his throat.

"Saki, why don't you do the morning chores while I talk to Kanbe-san? I'm sure it's nothing all that interesting anyway." His words were casual enough, but his tone brooked no argument and the girl was up and out the door with only a quiet 'yes Sensei' within fifteen seconds of him speaking.

Alone now, the men stared at each other for several long minutes before either decided to speak. It was Taka who chose to break the silence.

"Quite the obedient little thing, isn't she?"

"Cut the crap Kanbe, what do you want?"

Taka set down his tea and looked across the table at Kakashi. "As I said, a business matter. I am heading a group of skilled and deadly men- I want you to join us."

Kakashi scoffed. "And for what reason would I want to do that, I already have everything I need right here." He gestured broadly at the surrounding farm.

Taka leaned forward in his chair and looked at Kakashi intently. "You were never intended to live like this. You were raised to hunt, to hide, and to kill; you didn't spend the last twenty-three years of your life training to be a farmer. You're a killer."

They continued to stare at each other intently and Kakashi didn't answer for long enough that Kanbe began believe he had convinced him.

"No."

"… You're not worried about Saki-chan?"

"Saki doesn't need anything other than me, certainly not…" Kanbe cut him off.

"Sure she's happy to be here alone with you, but how long do you think it will last? At some point ANBU will catch up to you, and then what will you do?"

Kakashi's hand curled into a tight fist as his desire to hit Kanbe soared, but he held himself back by force of will.

"I am not threatening you, I am simply stating a fact that you are ignoring."

Kakashi's silence was long and his jaw twitched with held back frustration. After a long moment Kakashi sighed and ran a hand through his messy tresses. "You're right; I'm not a farmer." He looked up at Kanbe through the hair that had fallen over his good eye. "But that doesn't mean I have any desire to work for you either. I may not be with Konoha anymore Kanbe, but that doesn't mean that I would be willing to go out and terrorize civilians. I still believe in a _few_ of their principles, just not all of them…"

His eye looked out in the direction Sakura had gone. "Some things are just more important than society's rules..."

* * *

Sakura went about the daily chores with significantly more gusto than usual. It was all she could do not to grind her teeth at her inability to listen in on the conversation going on in the small building that was their temporary home. It wasn't so much that she didn't trust Kakashi to handle things well, despite the events of the previous day she still had utter faith in Kakashi's abilities. Unless there was no choice, he would never sabotage a mission.

But damn it, she wanted to do something too!

With a deep sigh she continued going about her normal daily chores, frequently glancing in the direction of the cabin. It wasn't until she had actually finished all of her normal chores that she started to worry though. Normally the chores would have taken around three hours, and though she knew that she had been going faster than normal to burn off the nervous energy coursing through her, it had still taken her at least two.

The chickens had been fed, their stalls cleaned, their water changed, their eggs collected; the garden had been weeded, and the animal traps had been checked. But there had still been no movement from the cabin, no one had left and no voices had been raised. It was just a little bit worrisome.

Just not enough so to go back in there and possibly ruin everything.

After worrying her lower lip for long enough to make it painful, she made her decision. She couldn't stay out here forever, Saki wouldn't wait out here worrying over what was going on inside- she would have complete faith that Kakashi-sensei could handle anything. So standing here really could do nothing to further their mission…

Without allowing herself to think on it any further Sakura pasted Saki's most benign smile on her face and walked back into the hut. And stopped immediately in the doorway.

Whatever it was that she had expected to see, this was _not_ it.

* * *

At first things had gone exactly as Kanbe had expected. Hatake had been almost hostile, and he had downright refused to join them.

But he couldn't understand him now.

Hatake had spouted some tripe about having _principles_, and not wanting to hurt others. He was talking like a weak civilian woman.

It was ridiculous.

But the most ridiculous part was that it was Kanbe's job to change his mind.

Hatake Kakashi was probably the most confusing man he had ever met. The task of bringing him in wouldn't actually be that hard, ANBU would catch up to them eventually, but he didn't know how to make him agree to the tasks Mejiro would undoubtedly assign to him.

That didn't really matter right now though, Mejiro would know what needed to be done- so that could wait for later.

Right now he was a little more concerned with why the Copy-nin was doing upside-down push-ups with only the first finger of each hand. And had been doing so for the last half an hour.

Before that it had been sit-ups, and before that had been almost forty minutes of yoga.

Taka had no idea what any of this had to do with his proposal, but Hatake wouldn't speak to him further on the subject.

So he was left with nothing to do but wait. He couldn't go back without the Copy-nin.

Mejiro didn't tolerate failure.

Just when he felt himself at the limits of his patience though, Kakashi stopped.

His body was covered in a light sheen of perspiration and his breathing was ever so slightly elevated. "I'll consider it."

Taka was confused. "Consider it? What have you been doing for the last hour and a half if you weren't thinking about it?"

Kakashi gave Kanbe his least sincere smile, tilting his head slightly to the right. "I was testing your reactions, couldn't you tell?" The look on Kanbe's face forced a laugh from Kakashi. "Alright, go back to your little 'group,' I'll give your offer real consideration and you can come back in a week for my decision."

Kanbe studied the Copy-nin intently. "You think I'm stupid don't you?"

At his words Kakashi was genuinely confused. "What?"

"If I leave for a week I'll come back to find an abandoned farm house. You honestly think I'd believe such a transparent lie?" His tone was calm, cold.

Kakashi bristled visibly at the accusation. "If I say I'm going to do something, I do it."

"Is that what you told your Hokage when you gave your oath to Konoha?"

Before he could blink Kakashi was on him, pinning him to the ground with a hand gripping his throat. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

"Sensei?"

Kakashi and Kanbe froze and turned towards the door to see the young girl standing there in shock. Her lip trembled and it was apparent that she was trying to hold back tears that threatened to spill over at the sight of the two men fighting. Slowly Kakashi eased himself off of Kanbe and held a hand out to her.

"It's alright Saki, I was a little upset for a second- but I'm not now. There's nothing to worry about."

Saki looked to be almost pained with worry. "You're not going to fight anymore?"

Kakashi smiled reassuringly. "Of course not, Kanbe-san was just leaving. Weren't you Kanbe-san?" At the last he turned towards Kanbe again with a painfully accommodating tone.

Taka stood and brushed himself off and returned Kakashi's insincere smile. "Of course Hatake-san." Turning back to Saki his face took on a more pleasantly neutral expression. "Don't worry Saki, Hatake-san and I are done talking for now anyways. But I'll be back in a couple days, so please make me another cup of your lovely tea then."

Saki smiled through her watery eyes and held back the tears that had been so close to falling. "Okay, goodbye Kanbe-san."

Taka inclined his head slightly and then without another word left the house and closed the door lightly behind him. In the silence that followed his departure Sakura gave Kakashi a look that would make lesser men quake.

"Don't give me that look Saki, he was leaving anyway." Sakura rolled her eyes and walked over to the table to pick up the dishes before bringing them over to the sink.

"I've finished all the chores Sensei," she peaked almost timidly over her shoulder at him "so would it be alright if I spent some time working on my jutsu?"

Kakashi sighed, she was playing the game like a professional. Though, that had been one of the major reasons she had been chosen for this mission in the first place wasn't it?

"Sure Saki-chan, just stay in the yard." Sakura squealed like the child she was supposed to be and tackled him in a quick hug before running out the door with a happy smile painting her features. If he didn't know her better, Kakashi would have been fooled too.

* * *

Okay, this chapter was obviously a long time in coming and I have made changes to every chapter so far. So… what do you think? ^_^v


	8. Chapter 8: Control

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or any of its characters, that right is reserved for Masashi Kishimoto. I also do not own the song _Cruisin',_ though I fully reccomend listening to it.

I wanted to once again thank my wonderful, no longer MIA beta Slinkymilinky- writing is SO much easier with your help!

Also, thank you soooooooooo much to all of you who have taken the time to read, re-read, favorite, follow and comment on my story. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to know that there are people out there who enjoy reading what I enjoy to write! And a double thank you to those of you who have been here since the beginning. You've put up with a lot of BS from my long updates and many edits, but you stuck by me and kept reading.

Thank you!

* * *

Chapter 8: Control

"_This isn't a discussion, the answer is no."_

"_Why won't you even listen to me? I'm an adult and I can make my own decisions, just because civilians aren't considered adults until their 18 doesn't mean you have any right to hold me to the same standards. Kami-sama, by the time I was fourteen I had both killed a man and participated in a life saving medical procedure- you think it's reasonable to hold me to the same standard as a civilian who probably couldn't even _imagine_ some of the things I've seen?"_

"_You listen to me young lady, committing those acts alone does not make you an adult. You're not ready to make such a life-changing decision!"_

"_What?! Life-changing decision? I'm moving less than a mile away to be closer to the hospital, the place where I save people's **lives**, and you think I'm incapable of making such a life-changing decision? I make harder decisions every day. Every time a gennin comes in screaming in pain from a training accident I have to decide whether to ease their pain or conserve my chakra in case a real emergency comes in. Every time a mother comes in with a sick child I have to decide if their recovery will be measured in the minutes my jutsu would take, or the weeks the illness would otherwise run._

Every time_ I am given a possibly life threatening mission I have to decide if I will take it… and you don't think I'm capable of deciding whether or not to live on my own?!"_

"_I'm telling you right now Sakura, if you step outside that door- you're _not_ coming back. I may not be able to legally keep you here, but if you go now I'm not going to let you come back. I'm drawing the line right here, one way or another- this discussion is _over_!"_

_Anger burning brightly in her eyes Sakura lifted her large duffle bag containing all of her most precious belongings and marched out the door without another word, slamming it behind her so hard the wood cracked._

* * *

Sakura jolted awake at the sound of the bedroom door slamming shut, her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest from the power of dream merging with reality. A multitude of curses rose to her lips but she bit her tongue before allowing any to slip. She was supposed to be a meek fourteen-year-old girl after all. The fact that she was actually a strong and confident seventeen-year-old shinobi was a secret known only by Kakashi and herself.

At the thought of him Sakura found herself looking up and watching as said shinobi paced the room, tugging at his hair in frustration. At what, she could only guess- though the last few months had been hard on him.

When Kakashi had finally agreed to at least _meet _Taka's group they had had _no_ idea what they were really stepping into. They had been prepared for a group of rouge-nin led by an S-class missing-nin with a taste for little girls; the reality was so much worse.

But then, how could they possibly have guessed that the S-class missing-nin they had been prepared to deal with was actually nothing but the lapdog of a woman who could easily pass for a child?

Mejiro, when they finally met her, had proven herself to be almost as deranged as Orochimaru. She fully believed that all girls should be trained in the arts of seduction by the age of eight, should know how to kill a man mid-coitus by ten, and should be capable of every other kind of murder by thirteen. It was the real reason she had formed this 'little band of misfits,' to train young girls to become cock-sucking killers for hire.

It was Kakashi's job to train the most talented of the girls to be _true_ killing machines. Sakura's part had been to pose as one of these girls and dig deeper into the group's history and members. Unfortunately, it was a mission she had failed.

As soon as Mejiro learned that Saki was 'pregnant' she had been done with her. In her eyes pregnancy was a prison with a life sentence, and suited for only the 'chattel,' as she referred to civilian women. From then on Sakura had barely even been able to leave the room that had been given to them for fear of Mejiro throwing her out. It had been made clear that Saki was no longer allowed to practice being a shinobi, she had lost that right when she had thrown her lot in with the 'breeders.' Kakashi had only been able to keep her in the compound at all because he refused to stay without her, and Mejiro had already decided that only Kakashi could help her truly accomplish her goals.

In a blur Sakura's eyes could barely follow, Kakashi stopped his pacing and was suddenly across the room gripping her shoulders. His uncovered eye was glazed over with lust and his words came out strained, like a rubber band that had been stretched a little too far. "Saki, I need you." The words shocked her, but not enough to stop the automatic response of her body, warming and tingling in anticipation. They had been doing this for long enough, and the sensations that he brought out in her were good enough that her body could only respond in compliance to his little 'suggestion.'

As his hands worked at pulling the clothes from her body he caressed her in all his favorite places; _his_ favorite because of the moans they ripped from her throat. Her breath hitched as his hands grabbed her ass and pulled her into him, pressing his length against her even as his nimble fingers undid the clasp of her bra.

It wasn't like he had never come to her with this kind of need before, but after all the times they had done this she could tell that this time was a little different than normal. First off because he usually pretended to be at least a little bit romantic; but even more telling was the fact that he was looking her in the eye.

His face was so close to hers that if he weren't wearing a mask they would be kissing, she could see nothing but his eye. His fingers traveled down her back and tugged down on the pink lace of her panties, pulling away from her only long enough to divest her of the article and free himself from the confines of his pants.

He didn't continue with the usual routine of turning her around, but simply lifted her and pressed her into the wall to her left as he entered her swiftly. His strokes were hard and demanding, leaving her breathless and begging for more.

Where before he had been staring into the green of her eyes he now had his face nuzzled into the junction of her shoulder and neck. She felt him bite her through the fabric of his mask and was sure she would lose her mind. He was panting, holding her ass up with one hand and pressing down on her shoulder with the other, forcing himself into her body with reckless need.

"Oh Kami-sama, Sakura, do you have any idea how tight you are?" The words were whispered too quietly for anyone else to hear, but they still alerted Sakura immediately to the fact that something else was wrong. "Even after all the times I've had you, I still want more. Don't you know what you do to me? Do you have any idea? Fuck, I can't hold out much longer Sakura, your pussy is so tight. Kami-sama, please come for me Sakura, Please, please, please…"

It was too much for her, the new angle combined with his unbelievably dirty words, and his begging had her cumming harder than she had since before the incident at the farm. Everything was a white haze, she was crying out and he was biting down on her shoulder almost mercilessly as a low moan strangled its way from his throat.

And then they were sliding down the wall as his legs seemed to lose all strength. For at least five minutes they could do nothing but pant, Kakashi still hard inside her. Sakura was nearly a pile of mush she was so exhausted, but it wasn't enough for Kakashi- he needed more.

Mejiro had ambushed him after he had finished his 'lessons' for the day, saying that she was impressed with the progress he had made, but that she felt he was limiting himself by his devotion to Saki. She didn't want his little 'breeder' taking up his time and attentions that could be used in lessons with the younger girls as well. For forty minutes she had sucked his cock like it was the best lollipop she had ever tasted, and he had stood there, refusing to let her have the pleasure of making him cum.

She hadn't been happy about his resistance to both her and her request that he rid himself of the little albatross; but she wasn't stupid enough to push it either, she did want to keep him after all. Besides, there was always next time…

Kakashi's problem though, was that he had already gone too long without cumming and once wasn't even nearly enough.

For the next hour Kakashi took her again and again, until his balls ached and Sakura no longer had the energy to meet his thrusts with her own. He switched position again so he was laying down with her above him. Bereft of energy though she was able to do nothing but accept the position and lay her head on his shoulder. Every time she had started to get used to a position he had changed it, desperate to satiate the desire that was becoming almost painful as it burned through his blood; but every time he took her he only wanted her more.

Sakura's eyes were glassy with her inability to move. He wasn't exactly hurting her, but she felt numb- unable to do more than lay in whatever position he put her in; and he knew it. Kakashi hated himself for being unable to stop, it had never happened before. Sure he had come more than once before, even three times on one very rare occasion but this was… unnatural…

'Poison.' The word resounded through his head as he suddenly realized that this _had_ to have something to do with Mejiro.

"Sakura." He was careful this time, burying his face in her hair and barely breathing the whisper in her ear- she nodded imperceptibly in response. "Mejiro ambushed me on my way back… I'm not sure if this is entirely natural."

Alerted by his tone that something serious had transpired Sakura nodded again and pressed her hand between them before allowing her chakra to pour into him. It was unlikely that anyone was watching them right at this moment, but she wasn't the type to take needless risks. It only took a few moments for Sakura to find what she was looking for, but it wasn't exactly what she had expected to find.

It wasn't what she would normally qualify as a poison; really it was just a powerful aphrodisiac that had thoroughly saturated Kakashi's bloodstream. She immediately began forcing his body to break it down and flush it out of his system. This wouldn't kill him or even cause him anything more than a little discomfort as far as she could tell; but frankly, Sakura was tired and if this went on much longer she was liable to pass out from sheer exhaustion. Even using her chakra was becoming more difficult, her mind clouded from sex and the numbness that had begun to seep in twenty minutes ago.

As Kakashi felt the chemical leave his system he was finally able to force his body to disengage from Sakura's, and guide them back to the bed where they happily collapsed in a sweaty heap. After a few long minutes Sakura crawled her way up to his face and placed light kisses across his face and nuzzled the side of his head, taking a moment to whisper in his ear. "I think that it's about time for Saki to have a 'miscarriage.'" Kakashi turned his head toward her just enough for her to see the question in his eye.

"If Mejiro has begun ambushing you like this then you need back-up, and I can't do that from this room- I can't do anything from here. It's time for me to get out there and do my part of the mission." Kakashi looked into her eyes, taking a moment to gage her words before nodding imperceptibly- there really wasn't much she could do from here. "Okay, I'll take care of it tomorrow, just don't forget to panic." He nodded again and began to pet her hair gently, guiding her head down to the pillow before allowing himself to drift easily into sleep with Sakura not far behind.

* * *

The glistening gold of her evening dress reflected the light from the chandelier and captured the eye of everyone who so much as turned in her direction. It was the reason that she had decided to buy it in the first place. Well, that and the fact that it hugged her curves like a glove.

It was a back-less halter dress that wrapped around her neck like a choker and showed absolutely no cleavage. What it did show was her delicate shoulder blades, the dip in her waist between her back and her ass, and most of her left leg. The bottom of the dress came down to her ankles, just above the strappy gold heels she had purchased with the dress; and a slit up the left side went all the way up to a spot just below her hip bone.

If there was one thing Ino would never be accused of it was dressing inappropriately for the situation.

It had been almost three months since the Hokage had assigned Neji and her to watch Takahi Chiro, but tonight was the first time they had been in his home. Home was the wrong word though; it was a mansion with no peer in Konoha when it came to extravagance. Where most buildings were made of wood, and some of the more important ones made of grey stone or brick, the mansion was built entirely of marble. The chandeliers were made of only the finest crystal; the floors were patterned with different shades of hard wood in most rooms and a flawless marble mural in the ballroom.

It was the only ballroom in Konoha.

The mansion itself was owned by Takahi Hana, formerly Hanabisu Hana of the Hanabisu Merchant Guild that had played a major part in the original building of the village. Chiro had married the last of the old-money family left in Konoha and had squandered half their fortune within a year of the marriage. Not one to be cowed or bullied, Hana had taken control of the finances that were her birthright and threatened divorce should he touch another cent he hadn't earned himself without her permission.

The Hanabisu fortune had since grown back to where it had been before the marriage, Hana had become known throughout the country as a force to be reckoned with, and Chiro's balls had been neatly tied to her purse strings. It was a wonder he hadn't tried to sell out his country for a little extra cash years ago.

Tonight was the annual Hanabisu Ball in honor of the company's founding, and it was Ino's job to steal the show while Neji and Genma worked their way through all of Chiro's files and hidey-holes. For the last three months they had dug through every record they could find, and gone to every event Chiro attended while Genma, among others, watched him on his off hours. But it had amounted to nothing more than a list of his favorite hang-outs without so much as a record of where the money he was spending had come from.

Tsunade was not pleased.

The fact that the security at the mansion was the best in the village had not impressed her; nor the fact that despite being a member of one of the most prominent families in Konoha, this was the first event that Neji had been able to snag an invitation to. It also didn't help matters that if they were discovered Hana could ruin half the village simply by moving her company's head of operations to another location.

So tonight there couldn't be any mistakes. Ino would be the center of the party, keeping all eyes on her and Chiro close at hand. Neji would scour the mansion for any hidden rooms, cubbies, vaults, safes, or anything out of the ordinary in general; and Genma would go through first Chiro's files and then Hana's. Truthfully they were all hoping that she had nothing to do with it, but they couldn't take the chance of not looking into her records during their (most likely) only chance to get into the building.

"Ino, I'm going to need you to create a distraction in exactly five minutes- a loud one." Not outwardly acknowledging Neji's request Ino played with her gold earring, causing a brief buzz over the headset to let him know that she understood.

It wouldn't be an easy feat to accomplish, but with the right motivation you could make anything happen.

"Chiro, don't you think it's about time you get up there?" Ino waved in the direction of the stage that had been set up for the band. "We've all heard Hana say that she married you for your singing voice, but I don't think we've ever heard you sing." There were nods of agreement in the circle of people who had come to be in the center of the ballroom and even a few song requests from those who _had _heard him sing before.

Chiro put on his most charming smile. "But Yamanaka-san, what kind of host would I be if I simply left my guests waiting while I indulged myself?" There was a light spattering of laughter from around the circle even as Ino smiled.

"A popular one?" The laughter increased and a few people began to applaud encouragement as more and more guests turned from their conversations to see what was going on at the center of the room.

Chiro laughed and took Ino's hand lightly in his own. "Well then Yamanaka-san, I would be pleased to entertain you with a song or two; given of course that you accompany me." Ino smiled sweetly as she took his hand and they proceeded to walk through the crowd of guests and then up the stairs to the stage that had been set up for the performers.

As they reached the stage Chiro consulted with her for a moment before handing her a microphone and turning away with his own to make an announcement. "It has been brought to my attention that many of you haven't had the pleasure of hearing me sing, and it was suggested that we remedy the situation. So for the entertainment of all, and the pleasure of my lovely Hana, Yamanaka-san and I will perform _Cruisin'_."

The music started up and Ino swayed to the music as she sang back-up for Chiro, and after only the first couple verses the crowd began clapping and cheering loudly. Ino hadn't been exaggerating when she had said Chiro was a good singer, he was actually one of the best non-professional singers she had ever heard. Not that she was too shabby herself her mother had forced her to take singing lessons until she had made chuunin, and for once she was glad.

"Ino, thirty seconds." Neji's voice in her ear made Ino smile as she touched the button on her earring again so he would know she was ready.

Chiro would occasionally make eye contact with Ino, but he spent most of his time singing to his wife as the electric guitar and keyboard played the bluesy tune. This left Ino with plenty of stage to play with. She danced slowly as the music dictated and sashayed her way to the left side of the stage. The crowd was swaying to the music and Ino's back-up made Chiro sound even better.

It was a lovely, romantic song and Ino almost hated to ruin it, but the moment Neji called "now," over the headset (right at the height of the song) she let the hand holding her microphone fall to the side, directly in front of the electric guitar's speaker. The feedback created was deafening and lasted a full three seconds before Ino (pretending to be startled) pulled her hand away.

The whole room held their hands over their ears for a few moments longer before turning their glares toward Ino. It was a little awkward to say the least. Ino was used to being the center of attention, but almost never as the cause of unpleasantness. She allowed herself the expected blush of embarrassment and bowed low to her hosts giving profound apology.

The crowd didn't look in the mood to be forgiving but Chiro laughed it off with a smile. "I think Yamanaka-san had another song in mind, eh?" The room settled their eyes back on him and smiled or laughed off the unpleasantness as Ino tried to sneak her way off the stage and toward the punch bowl without being accosted. As the next song began to play and Chiro struck up another love song Ino realized that though she had been allowed to leave the stage, she had not done so without notice.

Holding out a glass of punch for her was Takahi Hana, with a smile on her face that even Ino couldn't interpret. "That was quite a performance Yamanaka-san."

Ino ducked her head in a semblance of shame. "Sorry about that, I have a bad habit of being clumsy at the worst possible moments. Really, the first time Neji's family and mine met after we announced the engagement I fell flat on my face while carrying out the tea."

Hana laughed affably before pinning Ino with her penetrating stare. "It was on purpose."

Ino's mouth opened and closed like a fish before she was able to gather her words. "How could you say that Takahi-san? I would never…"

She was cut short by Hana's raised hand. "It doesn't matter, I don't care about a little noise. What I _do_ care about however is whether or not your friends upstairs are going to be making similar interruptions during the biggest event I host each year." Ino tried to gather her words but didn't know what to say, how had they been so completely caught?

Hana sighed and waived her hand vaguely in the direction of the stage. "If Chiro has done something again, fine; I don't care what you do to him. But you will not interrupt this party any further, do I make myself clear?"

"Of course Takahi-san." Ino whipped her head around at the sound of Neji's smooth voice as he walked up behind her. "What we needed to accomplish tonight has been concluded successfully, there will be no need to interrupt your party further. We will be back in the morning however for your husband. I hope we can count on your cooperation."

Hana smiled, once again the perfect hostess. "Of course Hyuuga-san, I don't need trash dirtying my carpet. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll return to my guests. You can show yourselves out?" Neji inclined his head and Takahi Hana walked away without a backward glance.

"What the hell was that about?" Ino questioned him even as he took her arm and gently steered her out of the ballroom and toward the exit.

"She knew."

"What!" Ino's loud screech earned her a few glares as well as a pull from Neji to hurry her pace.

"Not exactly what he'd done, but we found evidence that she had figured out that he was up to something less than legal. She was gathering the information before presenting it to her family elders to sue for divorce. It seems that she's been trying to get rid of him since about six months after their marriage. Almost running the family fortune into the ground hadn't been deemed as enough and Chiro has always been especially careful about his reputation in public, so she needed better evidence that he wasn't worthy of the Hanabisu family."

Ino smiled as they stepped outside and were joined by a silent Genma as he materialized out of the shadows. "And now, after combining her evidence with ours, she'll be free." Neji inclined his head at her words and Ino hugged his arm tightly squealing in joy before letting go of his arm to skip forward and spin around laughing.

Genma walked up beside Neji as Ino continued to dance around ahead of them, nudging him slightly with his elbow and smiling around a senbon. "You really going to marry her?"

"Mn."

Genma chuckled and looked back up at the smiling, dancing kunoichi. "At least she's not boring, eh?"

Neji smirked at the tokubetsu-jounin. "No, Ino is many things, but never boring."

Just then Ino ran back toward them with a grin plastered on her face. "You know what this means?" Neji nodded even as Genma looked on in bewilderment.

"We can start going on normal missions again?"

Ino stuck out her tongue at Genma. "Baka! It _means_ that we can start planning the wedding."

Neji indulgently patted her hand while Genma stared at them like they were crazy. "Geez, kids these days… Ja ne!" With a solute he was gone in a puff of smoke, leaving the couple to themselves. Which was just fine with Ino.

Now that they were alone she felt no compulsion to stop herself from leaning over and kissing Neji in the middle of the street, and Neji had no compulsion to stop himself from pulling her closer and angling his mouth to deepen the kiss. The stars were shining brightly against the midnight backdrop of the sky, and two lovers made their way to a bench where they could spend the next hour kissing and holding each other as the rest of the world melted away.

* * *

Kakashi had to give it to Sakura, she really had better chakra control than anyone would easily believe. He knew next to nothing about medical jutsu, but even he knew that it took a master to be able to fool a gynecologist into believing that she had had a miscarriage.

When they had woken this morning there had been a small pool of blood running down Sakura's thigh. Between the blood and Sakura's screams, it hadn't been hard for Kakashi to pretend to be panicked. Within a minute he had been dressed and running while carrying the crying girl to the doctor on the other side of the building.

It only took a glance for the doctor to figure out what they were there for, seeing as there was still blood dripping down Sakura's leg. The doctor had run the tests and delivered the 'bad news,' all the while trying to calm the crying girl and the irate Copy-nin. In his 'rage' Kakashi had demolished half the private ward before taking off to demolish a training ground or two.

He had done his part, had kept up the pretense, the rest was up to her.

* * *

Sakura was frantic, well, 'Saki' was. Even knowing that it was part of the plan she had been surprised by Kakashi's reaction to the 'news.' The part of her that was a medic wanted to frown at him for destroying perfectly good medical equipment, but she suppressed it and just cried all the harder. It was difficult to cry so much when she wasn't really sad, but she once again put her chakra to work to form the tears she needed to shed.

Not more than a minute after Kakashi had left Mejiro had entered the room wanting to know what was going on. "She lost the child Mejiro-sama." At his words Sakura redoubled her sobs and covered her face with her hands.

Mejiro eyed the girl passionlessly before stepping up to her and slapping her across the face, surprising her out of crying. "Stop your blubbering, breeder." She said the last with such distain that an idea sprang to Sakura's mind.

Looking up at the redhead with silent tears rolling down her cheeks Sakura spoke with a broken voice. "You don't understand Mejiro-sama, I didn't want a child- but Sensei was so mad I thought he would kill me. I swore to him that I'd never run away again, but he wouldn't believe me…" She sniffled and spoke again in a broken whisper. "He said pregnant girls don't run…"

For the first time since their arrival Mejiro looked at Sakura with something resembling sympathy, as an image of her six-year-old self swearing the same thing over and over again to Kabuto flashed through her mind. She didn't feel bad for the girl, to her mind this was simply the natural progression of things, but for the first time she saw potential in the girl.

"So you've been lying?" Sakura's lip began to quiver and her eyes went wide with fear, she couldn't bring herself to respond. "You've been lying to Hatake Kakashi for three months and getting away with it?" Sakura dropped her eyes to her lap and nodded slightly as tears continued to drip from her chin.

Mejiro smiled predatorily and lifted Sakura's chin to look her in the eyes. "I may have been wrong about you Saki." She stared silently into Sakura's eyes for a long minute before dropping her chin and straitening up. "Don't worry about Kakashi, I'll take care of him. You just go back to your room and pack up your things, you're moving to the training facility."

Sakura's eyes went wide with surprise, but she slid off the exam table and bowed. "Hai…" As she stood upright again she looked into Mejiro's eyes and gave a wobbly smile. "Thank you Mejiro-sama."

Mejiro waved the girl off with a flick of her wrist and turned as the doctor cleared his throat. "What?"

Looking somewhat cowed the man bowed slightly and avoided eye contact as he straitened. "It would be wise not to train her in your…" He cleared his throat again, licking his lips before continuing. "finer arts for the next month or so. The damage caused by not allowing her body to heal naturally could be irreversible."

Sweat dripped down his neck as Mejiro glared at him, but after two full minutes of making him panic, she smiled. "Alright Hiro-kun, Hatake probably trained her in most of it already anyway. I'll hold off on the intercourse part for a while, it's really not as important as the rest anyway, right?"

Hiro swallowed as Mejiro stepped forward and cupped his semi-hard member with a smile. "Hai, Mejiro-sama." She pressed herself against him and stood on her tippy toes to whisper breathily in his ear.

"All this talk about fucking makes me want to fuck." His hands reflexively fell to her waist, flexing as she rubbed her hardened nipples against him. "What do you say Hiro-kun, wanna fuck me against the wall this time?" A strangled groan escaped him as she lifted one leg up around his hip and ground herself against him.

"Yes, fuck yes." Quickly, because that's the way she liked it, he let go of her long enough to undo his pants and free himself before picking her up by her ass and pressed into her as he slammed her against the wall. It was so easy to fuck her, because she loved fucking and she never bothered to wear panties beneath her tight little skirts. And she was so _tight_.

It was one of the side effects of Orochimaru's experiments. Mejiro could never have children, but her vaginal wall was extra sensitive and extra tight; so she would always love fucking and men would always love to fuck her. It was one of the few perks to working for her.

"Yes Hiro, that's right fuck me harder, harder damn you!"

Lifting one of her knees all the way to her chest he began to thrust harder, brutally so because she couldn't come without a little pain. "Come on bitch, take it. Take my dick and like it you dirty whore. Fuck, yes… yes!"

Mejiro's small top had ridden up to reveal her pert breasts that were free of bra or bindings, bouncing with his every thrust. She loved it when they lost themselves, when they fucked her so hard they forgot who she was and how they should address her. It made her wet just thinking about how she would punish him later. Then his thrusts lost their rhythm and his untrimmed nails dug into her ass to the point where they might be drawing blood and she lost it.

She came screaming as Hiro thrust a final time before his back went ram-rod straight as his body was hit with the pure bliss of Mejiro's tight pussy clamping down on him impossibly harder. He stood there panting, trying not to collapse because she didn't like that.

"Hiro-kun," Mejiro sing-songed his name through her panting. "You know that I'm going to have to punish you."

Panting himself Hiro somehow managed to respond. "Hai Mejiro-sama."

She smiled wickedly. "Alright then…" Leaning forward she kissed him, forcing her tongue into his mouth and leaving him no option but to comply. Almost immediately she felt him harden again inside her and she laughed merrily as he hitched both her knees over his shoulders and thrust into her with mindless abandon.

She loved to use her gift to make them lose themselves; she loved the control that only she had over them. And though she didn't know how Kakashi had withstood her the day before, she knew it was only a matter of time. After all, without his personal sex toy around he would have no one else to turn to.

* * *

So that was... quite possibly the dirtiest thing I've written thus far. Honestly, when I started writing this story I had _no_ idea that there would be this many sex scenes- I just put them where I thought they belonged. Hmmm, I hope I'm not forever corrupting fragile minds- at least not too much! ^_^v

Review?


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